Blue Ribbon Auto Named Member of the Month

Dwight Spencer, left, accepts the Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce Award for the Chamber Member of the Month for January. Chamber President Shannon Vann, right, presents the award. Vann pointed out how important the Spencer family is to the community. Buddy Spencer volunteers his time for education and Carl Albert State College and Dwight Spencer volunteers for the city and the chamber, and is already at work on the chamber’s next Diamond Daze celebration. The Spencer’s Blue Ribbon Auto Group has four local stores, carries seven brands of vehicles and has 57 employees, Vann said.

Vann also introduced Frank Sullivan III who reported on the Sallisaw Youth League and the Sallisaw Sports Complex on Sallisaw’s east side.

Sullivan announced the Sallisaw Youth League has become affiliated with the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), the largest league of its kind in the country, which will help with tournaments and their promotion.

“They will give us as many sanctioned tournaments as we want,” Sullivan said.

The youth league is considering the construction of two buildings at the sports complex. The buildings will be for storage and rest areas for umpires. Construction should begin within the next few weeks, he said.

Sullivan said the eight ballfields at the complex – four for baseball and four for softball – can be used for both sports, and will have the best surface available. Shade structures are also going up and plans are for netting to protect the audience from foul balls.

Sullivan said estimates are that over 21,000 ball players' family members will visit the sports complex during games, and he urged entrepreneurs to build restaurants or commercial businesses on the east side of town.

Sullivan said the sports complex “. . .will be a tremendous success, a huge success, for the city and the chamber. It’s a big league story, that’s what we have.”

The youth league is still offering sponsorships, and a ball field can be named as the sponsor wishes for a $25,000 donation for six years. Many other sponsorships are also available for lesser amounts, he added.

City Manager Clayton Lucas announced that the sports complex was supposed to be done last August, but the contractor is still making adjustments and corrections, which results in the contract amount decreasing every day. Lucas said sod is still being laid, and some concrete is having to be replaced after the original cracked. Work is still being done on the sprinkler system he said.

He said it is expected the work should be complete in two to three weeks.

Upcoming events announced at the meeting include:

-Sequoyah Memorial Hospital is holding calcium scoring screening every Wednesday in February at a cost of $99. The test determines if there is calcified plaque in the arteries of the heart. To set up a screening all 918-774-1119.

-The Chamber’s annual Recognition Banquet will be held Feb. 13 at Sallisaw Middle School. Miss Alex Eppler, the 2014 Miss Oklahoma, will be the guest speaker. For information or tickets contact the chamber at 918-775-2558.

-The Sallisaw Chamber of Commerce basketball team will play the Harlem Ambassadors at 6 p.m. April 4 at the Sallisaw High School gym. Admission is $5 and children 5 and under may attend free. For more information call the chamber at 918-775-2558.

Sally Maxwell, Senior News Director

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