Chamber celebrates being ‘Comanche Proud’

The Comanche Chamber of Commerce celebrated another successful year at its annual banquet at Chisholm Trail Events Center last Tuesday.

Awards, a check for a scholarship and encouraging words from a guest speaker were among the highlights of the evening. 

Dr. Drew Biggs of 580 Chiropractic in Duncan was the guest speaker. Biggs talked about the importance of small-town businesses. 

“Whenever Comanche wins, Southwest Oklahoma wins,” Biggs said. “We love communities that are thriving the way this one is.”

Biggs said it was important to cultivate businesses, establish roots, build customer relationships and have integrity.

He compared business to farming, using fertilizer as an example of stimulating growth.

“Fertilizer is something that stretches beyond profit margins and stretches beyond social media likes,” Bigg said. “We’ve got families with deep roots here that have weathered the storm well. That’s generational. It’s not just people committed to their business, it’s being committed to their community. Businesses that have deep roots leave a legacy.”

He also gave the example of the process of working on his own lawn, such as removing weeds, planting seeds and waiting patiently for it to grow. He said it applied to business practices as well.

The chamber selected new officers for the 2024-25 year. Laura Lewis was re-elected as president, Sarah West was elected as vice president, Kerri Austin was re-elected as treaurer, Stephanie Woody was re-elected as secretary and Jeanne McGowen was elected as membership coordinator.

Lewis presented Keith and Robyn Smith of the Noah Presgrove Memorial Scholarship fund with a check from the chamber’s Spring Fest event held in March. The Noah Presgrove Memorial Car Show was originally scheduled to be at Fall Fest, but inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation.

More than 40 cars were entered into the event, raising over $10,000 for scholarships in memory of the former Comanche student who was found dead along Highway 81 in Jefferson County on Memorial Day weekend in 2023.

Several annual awards were handed out. Lewis won Person of the Year, Thompson’s Pharmacy won the Customer Service Award, Christian Helping Hands won the Non-Profit of the Year, Comanche Home & Hardware won the Community Improvement Award, Stephanie Woody was presented the Emerging Leader Award and Jason Hodges received the Community Heart Award.

Ray Marshall, owner of Comanche Home & Hardware, spoke about opening up a business in town after receiving the business’ Community Improvement Award.

“We have been truly blessed and we truly appreciate the reception we’ve gotten from everybody that we’ve met in Comanche,” Marshall said. “If you’ve been by and seen the outside of our building, you’ve seen some changes. You won’t believe what happened on the inside. I don’t think you’ll be ready for what you see when you come by.”