Wednesday Open Line

Last night I attended the retirement ceremony for outgoing Henderson Vance County Chamber of Commerce President Bill Edwards.  It was a heartfelt celebration, with words spoken by chamber members, elected officials at the local and state level, even a song honoring Mr. Edwards.  At the end Bill gave a moving speech as well thanking everyone.  I don’t want to say details of who was there or post pictures since it was  private event.  But I’ll ask the Chamber if I can do so. 

I’ll also say that while I was there, on 4 separate discussions was I told how ‘cleaned up’ and great our website is.  I also had a thank you email when I got home from another.  I don’t know the majority of people at the events, and honestly the events just aren’t my thing.  But I did want to go and congratulate Mr. Edwards for a job well done for us, and for himself, and to show my thanks.  So thanks as well to those that spoke with me and offered their kind words, without my asking for them no less.

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Those who watch weather and natural phenomena are keeping a close eye as things unfold this year.  2011 was unique in terms of the range and strength of events, including huge snowfalls, massive tornado outbreaks, heat waves, hurricanes, and floods.  The list was topped by a rare East Coast earthquake in August, the first of its magnitude in over a century.  The earthquake, centered in Virginia, registered 5.8 on the Richter scale and was felt from Canada to Georgia.  Earthquakes happen all the time, most of them so small the public is unaware of them.  In 2010, there were more than 8,400 quakes, most of them in the 2 through 3 range on the Richter scale.  You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.

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Discuss and more on today’s Open Lines!