We had another great chamber luncheon this past Thursday at Fajita Rita’s. Our numbers were down a bit, but I’m sure the pending round of wicked weather kept many of our usual attendees away.

Those in attendance included Steve and Chance Clinkenbeard, Mark Young, Paula Foster (Old Fort Women’s Club), George Carman, and myself. If you haven’t tried the buffet at Fajita Rita’s and you enjoy good Mexican food, you are really missing out. It’s great!

We continued our conversation about putting pressure on some business owners in the downtown area, to clean up their establishments and prevent the continuing decay and deterioration. It is critical to the preservation to our town’s growth and appearance.

I spoke with the town’s building inspector, Joe Roark, and invited him to our next chamber board meeting, to discuss the legal avenues we might be able to pursue. As mentioned earlier, it is not our intention to cause any hard feelings or step on anyone’s toes, but if we don’t take the first step, nothing will be accomplished. If any of you have any personal sentiments about this, please let me know.

I am very excited about the next bit of news. Not only do we have a new chamber member, but we also have the “first annual “Chamber of Commerce Historic Golf Tournament” to announce. Joining the chamber is Pecan Valley Golf Course, owned and operated by Cliff Garrett. Pecan Valley is located on Oklahoma 80, just north of Fort Gibson, toward the Fort Gibson Dam.

We talked about this at our last chamber luncheon, and in talking to Cliff, not only were we able to establish a tournament, but get a great new member of the chamber as well. The tournament is scheduled for May 17 and will consist of a four-player scramble, playing 18 holes. This new event will not only serve as a fund raiser for the chamber, but also reward the top foursomes with some serious cash prizes.

Entry fee is $50 per player, and that includes 18 holes of golf, a cart for each pair of players, lunch, and an “Official First Annual Chamber of Commerce Historic Golf Tournament” T-shirt. Along with cash prizes for the top three foursomes, we will have prizes for “closest to the hole” and “longest drive” contests. We also plan on various goodies for drawings.

The tournament is open to everyone, and business-sponsored foursomes are also encouraged. We would like to see a great turnout for this inaugural event. So, mark your calendar for May 17, beginning at 9 a.m. We will have registration forms out soon, but if you have any questions, contact me here at the chamber at 478-4789 or 577-2069, or Cliff Garrett at 478-9774.

Don’t forget the weekly chamber luncheon each Thursday at 11:30, this month at Fajita Rita’s, 1111 E. Poplar St. Bring a friend.