Lots of things have been going on at the Blanco Chamber of Commerce in the past couple weeks.

First and foremost, plans are already underway for the Seventh Annual Blanco Lavender Festival, with some sponsorships still available.

There was a mixer at the Ranches of Brushy top, which had a great turnout – a lot of networking and socializing was done, and a good time was had by all!

Our newest perk is the Member of the Month award, with the inaugural award being given to Pat Vallone, an independent member of the chamber. She is a tireless, and I mean tireless, volunteer, with a great fashion sense. She is also the mother of Debbie and Karen, Debbie being Debbie Vallone Homeier, one of our wonderful realtors, and the wife of Vincent “Tommy” Vallone. You will find Pat (and Tommy) at just about any place in Blanco where they need some volunteers. She truly deserves the Member of the Month award for her “tireless dedication to preserving our Blanco way of life.” Not only that, at the annual Chamber banquet, which is January 27, 2011, all the names of the Members of the Month thus far will be “put in a hat” and a Member of the Year will be selected from those award winners.

Last but certainly not least, the keynote speaker for the Chamber banquet will be Dinosaur George, who has given presentations all over Texas and is definitely a hit everywhere he goes. Go to www.dinosaurgeorge.com to see why, come January 2011, you should be at the Chamber banquet because you will certainly be glad you did!