2010 Parade Marshal John Levings

2010 Christmas at Twilight

The 6th Annual Christmas at Twilight will be held this year on November 20. The celebration has found a home on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the change in the start time to an earlier 2:00 in the afternoon, has worked well for many families with small children. Expect to find many of your favorite things at Christmas at Twilight again this year. There will be an Elf Shoppe with activities for the children, and antique cars and hay rides.

The Taste of Wallace will offer a variety of foods, as will the food vendors. Entertainment will be going on throughout the event, the shop owners on Main Street will be offering special sales and refreshments, craft vendors will be set up along the streets, and elves and other Christmas characters will be parading through town. And of course, the celebration would not be complete without a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Mark your calendar and make plans with family and friends to spend the day and start your holiday season in Downtown Wallace for Christmas at Twilight 2010

2010 Christmas Parade Marshal-John Levings

The 2010 Wallace Christmas Parade Marshal has been announced. John Levings has been chosen for the honor this year. John has owned the Sears Hometown Store for the past 14 years, and during that time he has been an active member of our community.

John served as the Wallace Chamber of Commerce president for two years, and currently sits on the Wallace Parks & Recreation Board, and the Wallace Revitalization Association. John is also the president of the Methodist Men, and is president of the Pastor Parrish Committee of the Wallace Methodist Church.

Please join us in congratulating John on his selection!

Chamber sponsors political forum

The Wallace Chamber of Commerce was host to the major political candidates who are running for office in the 2010 November elections. The forum welcomed candidates running for Duplin County Commissioner, North Carolina House, North Carolina Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives.

All of the candidates present did a wonderful job of presenting their platforms and positions. They were strong in their explanations of why they felt strongly about certain points, they shared their backgrounds and the reasons they were running for office.

Many thanks to Sheila Young and Lou Powell for all of their efforts to make this event happen, and thanks to everyone who came out and supported this event. We are very proud of the citizenry of Wallace for their involvement in the voting process.

The State of the Town Address-2010

Wallace Mayor Charley Farrior delivered his “State of the Town” message to the Wallace Chamber of Commerce in what has become an annual tradition. The mayor reported that:

· After 12 years in working to build a new waste treatment plant, the project is underway and near completion.

· A new fire truck, able to spray both water and foam, has been purchase to replace an older engine. Hopefully, the acquisition of this piece of equipment will result in lower the insurance premiums for businesses.

· The Wallace Women's Club building which was damaged by arsonists, has been restored, and is available for rental.

· Plans are in the works to extend the existing runway at the Wallace airport by relocating the road adjacent to the airport into an adjacent field. A longer runways allows for larger aircraft to land in Wallace.

· After six years of dedicated effort to resolve the issues with the storm drainage system in Wallace, the success of those efforts was realized in the past weeks of record rainfall. Streets and drainage areas that previously would have flooded, performed very well with the recent 19 inches of rain.

· The Wallace Depot is now complete with the completion of the shed restoration project. The work was performed entirely by volunteers, and funded through donations.

· The implementation of Radio Read Meters has resulted in a cost saving to the town of $33,975.00 and has resulted in more accurate meter reading and billing.

· Mayor Farrior announced a that a new member of the Wallace Police Force has been hired with the acquisition of a K-9 Officer.

Mayor Farrior pointed to the positive growth spearheaded by the move Walmart made to US 41 Hwy., and the positive and negative results of the businesses that located with them. While the move has resulted in 2 additional shopping centers being built, and new businesses locating in Wallace because of that, it has also meant that existing businesses moved with the retailers. Some of those businesses were from the downtown area. Mayor Farrior expressed the concern that the Town Board feels over the situation, and announced that a meeting is scheduled with various members of the business community and two outside consultants. One of the consultants was instrumental in the efforts that gave birth to the Wallace Revitalization Association years ago.

Art at the Depot- Arts are Brewing...October 30

Mark your calendar for October 30. This year's Art at the Depot will have a Halloween theme. The all day family event will have arts & crafts vendors, activities for the kids-and adults, entertainment, food and fun!

Your are cordially invited to Chamber After Hours

You are cordially invited to join us

Thursday, September 16

from 6:00-7:30 p.m.

In the upstairs Banquet Room at the new

River Landing Clubhouse

for

Chamber After Hours.

Light refreshments and a cash bar will be available during an evening featuring the work of Thomas Bennett

Artist in Residence at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

R.S.V.P. by September 14 to Lou Powell by phone at

910-285-4044 or by email at lou@wallacechamber.com

Please join us at this beautiful facility for an evening of fellowship and networking with other chamber members.

New Member Spotlight:Thomas Bennett

Thomas Bennett has been painting for years. The Wallace resident is best known for his nature inspired pieces. His talent and perspective has been called “Audubon inspired” by many. It is his ability to capture the beauty in North Carolina wildlife that has earned him a position as an Artist in Residence at the North Carolina Museum of Natural History. In addition to his painting of nature, Bennett has done a commemorative painting for the North Carolina Muscadine Festival, and a festival promotional painting that was adapted as a label for one of Duplin Winery’s “festival wines”. He also painted the “Spirit of Airborne” commemorative poster which celebrates the achievements of the airborne units at Fort Bragg. Bennett recently donated a print of “Cardinals in Dogwood” to the Wallace Chamber of Commerce. The piece is on display at the Chamber of Commerce office in the Wallace Depot. There will be a showing and sale of some of Bennett’s work at the Chamber after

Pet Friends 2nd Annual 5k Run & 3k Walk

Pet Friends of Duplin County will hold its second annual 5k Fun Run and 3k Pet Walk on Saturday October 30, 2010. PFDC is a non profit 501-C (3) organization committed to the plight of abandoned, unwanted and abused animals. Pet Friends of Duplin County provides rescue services from area shelters and foster homes until these loveable and deserving animals can be placed in a suitable home for adoption. PFDC also has a low cost spay, neuter and rabies program. A transport service for these animals to safe havens is another service. PFDC conducts free pet care educational programs to the local schools in Duplin County. Last year Pet Friends of Duplin County rescued and transported over 300 puppies, dogs, kittens and cats. There were 320 spay and neuter surgeries. A total of 10,000 miles were traveled to transport animals to safe havens. We need your support to assist our four legged friends by participating in the PFDC Paws for a cause 5k Fun Run and 3k Pet Walk. The event starts at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday , October 30, 2010. We are looking forward to seeing you there with or without your pet friend. If you cannot attend, your contribution to this worthwhile cause will be greatly appreciated. Please make your check payable to Pet Friends of Duplin County, PO Box 152, Wallace, NC 28466. For more information, contact Bob Farina at 910-665-1133.

GOLD SPONSOR-$250- Includes your name and logo on t-shirts, your name on a sponsorship sign along the walk/run route, and inclusion in our printed material.

SIVER SPOSOR-$100- Includes your name in medium size block lettering on tee-shirts and inclusion in our printed material.

BRONZE SPONSOR-$50- Includes your name on a sponsorship sign along our walk/run route and inclusion in our printed material

Chance to win a new Mustang!

Stop by Friendly Ford before September 9, 2010 to register to win a new 2011 Ford Mustang!

Duplin County Partnership for Children Book Drive

Duplin County Partnership for Children is having a Book Drive for child care facilities in Duplin County, Parents as Teachers families, parent workshop attendees, families of other Smart Start funded programs and other organizations and families in need of children’s books. For more information, please contact DCPC at 910-296-2000. Book drop off locations in Wallace are: the Wallace Chamber of Commerce office from 1:00-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, Advance Auto, The Butter Box, Farm Bureau Insurance, Peebles Department Store, Piggly Wiggly and RCA Realty.

Duplin Christian Outreach Ministry opens thrift store

The Duplin Christian Outreach Ministries has opened the Blessings in Store thrift shop at 114 SW Railroad St. Items are donated to the ministry, and sold at reasonable cost to the community. They have a large selection of clothing for children, ladies and men, with prices ranging from $1.00-$6.00. There is also a good selection of houseware items and linens at equally reasonable prices. The store is open Thursday from 1:00-6:00 p.m., and Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. For more information about the store or to arrange to make a donation,