Winter sure has not lessened its grip on the area as major snowstorms and cold temperatures continue to chill. The flip side is that the prolonged winter lengthens the winter sports season. The trails were busy again this past weekend and good riding will continue for quite a while. Ski and snowshoe enthusiasts should remain happy as well.
We have set a date for the Annual Recognition Dinner. The dinner will take place on Thursday night, May 8. A social hour will begin at 5:30 and dinner will be served at 6:30. We have a lovely dinner menu in store at the Caribou Inn and Convention Center and a few surprises. Tickets will be $30 if paid in advance and $35 at the door. We are ready to take reservations. If you would like your business or organization to be invoiced for the reservations, simply let me know. More information on the dinner will be available as we get closer to the date.
Please remember that we need nominations on who or what to recognize. After all, you cannot have a recognition dinner without anything to recognize!
There is already a lot of calls and interest in the Annual City-Wide Yard Sale. Nobody does it better than Caribou and people are calling from Canada, Millinocket and beyond for information on when to come. Donna Murchison of Russell’s Motel told me she is already booking rooms for that weekend.
With all the interest already, I am opening the sign-up process for those who plan on having sales this year. The sign up form is on our website under Popular Forms or come on in and sign up. Either way, take care of it early and don’t miss out on our April 25 deadline.
The dates for the City-wide Yard Sale are May 17 and 18 and the prices are the same as last year: $15 per family, $20 for multiple families (3 or more), member businesses and organizations and $30 for non-member businesses. If you would like to advertise your business on the thousands of maps that will be printed, the cost is $125. Please let me know if you are interested.
Names are a funny thing and standards have changed since I was a kid. When I was a kid, you would never EVER call an adult by his or her first name. It was always ma’am or sir or Mr. and Mrs. Names are special. They mean something and I believe names are powerful. That’s why I dread pronouncing a name I am unsure of or even worse, get it completely wrong in the first place.
Whenever that happens, I can see the hurt/annoyance/disdain of the person I have wronged in this way and it takes a bit to move beyond the awkward moment. I have learned to always ask for the person’s preference and for help in what they call themselves.
This is complicated even more when there are nicknames involved. There is Robert, Bob, Bobby, Robby, Rob, etc. With so many choices, upon meeting someone, is it worth only a 20 percent chance of calling the person the correct one without asking? And yet people do take such liberties.
I appreciate people who ask me my preference. I appreciate them a lot. The preference is William. My son is Bill and when I turned 40, I turned to William because I felt it was time to grow into it. The only people who still call me Bill are family and they can be excused because that was what they grew up with.
It’s kind of comical how William seems to be a mouthful to some and it gets shortened to Will. Oh well, I guess the bottom line is that if you want to become a member of the Chamber or if you have free food to offer, you can call me anything you want! But if you want to sell me something and call me Bill, you have no shot at a sale. Heh.
As much as the winter seems long to us, can you imagine how long it has been for the members of the city’s public works department? And what about those who ploy privately for profit? They all have to be exhausted. But they also do a fantastic job. Can you imagine what life would be like without how good these people are with the jobs they do and how faithful they are at doing it?
Executive Director William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or email him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.
