Tickets are $25 apiece and can only be purchased at the Chamber Office, 215 W. Third. They will not be available at the door, said Debbye ValVerde, executive director of the chamber.

“Celebrating Howard County” will be the theme for this year’s banquet.

“We’re showing off us,” ValVerde said. “We’re showing off Howard County, Big Spring, Coahoma and Forsan.”

Emcees for the event are Jay Hendricks and Tatum Hubbard, news anchors for KOSA-TV in Odessa.

Breaking from tradition, the banquet will not feature a keynote speaker; instead, officials plan on a PowerPoint presentation highlighting area accomplishments during the past year.

“We’re going to celebrate Howard County, Big Spring, Coahoma and Forsan,” said Debbye ValVerde, executive director of the chamber. “We’ve had a lot of positive things happen in this area, such as downtown renovation efforts, and we want to salute those accomplishments.”

An annual feature of the event that will remain is the naming of the chamber’s man and woman of the year. JoBeth Corwin and Jim Little, who won the awards last year, will present the honorees.

ValVerde said 48 area businesses have signed up to decorate tables at the banquet.

“We’d like to see those tables full,” she said. “There’s going to be lots of great give-aways. These people go all-out in promoting their businesses.”

Corporate sponsors for this year’s banquet are Wells Fargo, State National Bank, First Bank of West Texas and Water Water, she added.

For more information, contact the chamber at 263-7641.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it