04/17/2010
The Chamber's annual Crappie Tournament was a huge success as 260 anglers fished the one day event which kicked off the 30-day Jackpot Derby. John Cole of Centreville won the top prize of $1000 for the largest fish of the day. Morgan Stoudenmire took the top youth catch as well as 4th place overall. For all the results and photos, follow this link. .
Winners01/16/2010
The Chamber co-sponsored an Indian Artifact Fair along with scholars from several area universities. The Fair stemmed from a recent book, The Search for Mabila, whereby several potential sites of this great battle are suggested to be in the Wilcox County area. Over 90 artifact collectors turned out for the event. See this link for more pictures.
Artifacts being analyzed01/12/2010
New officers of the Chamber were installed at the first meeting of the year. Floyd Harris is the new President of the Chamber with Bonnie Martens serving as Vice-President. Lathesia Saulsberry continues as Secretary and Delia Brand will serve as Treasurer.
12/03/2009
Replacement of the ramps at Bridgeport Landing is currently underway. The much needed project was spearheaded by the Chamber and is being funded by the Chamber, the City of Camden, and County Commissioners Mark Curl and John Matthews. The landing is expected to reopen to boaters by Jan. 1, 2010.
Slabs curing on landing awaiting
final push underwater.10/02/2009
On October 1st, the office of the Wilcox Area Chamber moved into the new Gee's Bend Ferry Terminal located on Highway 28, northwest of Camden. Over 150 local citizens came out for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new building. The Chamber is assured close contact with many tourists at this new location. A special thanks is due to the Wilcox County Commission for providing this space to the Chamber. For pictures of the ribbon cutting and the new building, please follow this link.
08/05/2009
Wilcox Natural, a countywide cleanup organized by the first class of Leadership Wilcox was a tremendous success. Volunteers scoured every mile of the river throughout the county and many miles of roadways, collecting an estimated 20 tons of trash. Glen Robinson and Floyd Harris, coordinators of the project, expressed their thanks to all those who participated. The next clean up will be held in February of 2010.
06/25/2009
In January 2009 due to the local economic conditions, the City of Camden's annual fireworks show was canceled. This event was part of the Wilcox Riverbank Festival. The Chamber was not able to secure funding from the tourism department to hold the Jazz Concert on Friday night, therefore, the "Riverbank Festival" was canceled for 2009.
However, Blackbelt Treasures portion of the weekend remains on schedule. Junefest 2009 will be held Saturday, June 27, in downtown Camden. This event will feature regional art, music, and food from 10am to 3pm. This is an event you will not want to miss.06/24/2009
The Chamber has spearheaded efforts to repair the boat ramps at Bridgeport Landing. The landing is owned by the Corps of Engineers and is leased to the City of Camden. After 30+ years of use, the landing is in dire need of repair. This landing is one of the most used in the county and is very important to the local economy. The Chamber is partnering with the County Commission and the City of Camden to raise funds to improve the landing and insure that is ready for many more years of service. The Chamber is asking any individuals or businesses that wish to donate to please get on board as well. Accounts have been set up at both Camden National Bank and Town-Country National Bank for anyone who wishes to make a donation to this worthy cause. We expect the work to be done in late summer or early fall.
06/10/2009
The first class of Leadership Wilcox, a leadership group sponsored by the Chamber, is planning a county-wide clean up day on August 1, 2009. Plans are to have hundreds of volunteers on that day clean up our county and begin to make it the cleanest in the state. Call us at 682-4929 to learn how you can be a part of this endeavor.
05/20/2009
The Wilcox Area Chamber Crappie Derby ended on May 17, 2009. The second annual event saw an increase in participants to 848 this year and an increase in tournament participants to 240 from the inaugural year's number of 204. The fishing was tougher this year due to heavy rains and the resulting high and muddy waters through much of the 30 day Derby. A total of 9 of the tagged fish, each worth $100, were caught. Two weeks after the event one of the fish worth $5,000 was caught from a dock in Miller's Ferry. The event is currently being planned for April and May 2010.
05/20/2008
The Wilcox Area Chamber Crappie Derby ended on May 18, 2008. The first ever event was a smashing success with over 825 entry tickets sold and 16 of the tagged fish redeemed. Area businesses reported a big increase in sales during the derby and Board Chairman William Malone states that the 2009 Derby is already being planned. Area bait shops had a hard time keeping minnows in stock throughout the 30 day event as anglers traveled from near and far to try their luck at the tagged fish, with values ranging from $100 to $25,000. See all the details at this link.
04/20/2008
On April 19th the Chamber put together the largest crappie tournament ever known to be held on Lake Dannelly. Two hundred and two anglers participated in the tournament and Thomasville, Alabama's Tracy Jackson took home the top prize of $1000 for a 2.30 pound crappie. See all the details at this link.
04/06/2008
The Black Belt Treasures Trail Ride and Treasure Hunt was canceled due to heavy rains that fell in the area the Friday night prior to the event and during the morning on Saturday. The event is expected to be planned for the spring of 2009. Please tell your horse riding friends to keep this event in mind for next spring.
The twenty two riders that showed up regardless of the adverse conditions had a great ride nevertheless and were not deterred by the misting rain.03/05/2008
The Chamber is working on three big events this spring and summer. The Black Belt Treasures Trail Ride and Treasure Hunt will be held south of Camden, Alabama on April 5th. Even if you don't have a horse you will want to come hear Paul Dailey with Wild Horse Ministries and see some fine horsemanship. This is a great event for the whole family.
On April 19th the Chamber is sponsoring a Big Fish Crappie Tournament on Miller's Ferry Lake (Lake Dannelly). This event will serve as a kick off for a 30-day Crappie Derby with $60,000 worth of tagged crappie released into the lake.
The 2nd Annual Wilcox Riverbank Festival will return on June 27th and 28th. You will not want to miss a great evening of music and food at the Roland Cooper State Park on Friday evening. Saturday will feature the Folk Life Festival at Black Belt Treasures and Saturday evening returns the popular fireworks show at East Bank Park overlooking the lake.
See the Events page of this site for information on all of these coming events!
01/01/2008 The Chamber sponsored a Holiday Cruise on the Gee's Bend Ferry on the evening of Dec. 27th. Over 120 passengers enjoyed an evening cruise along the river as well as a fireworks show by Hollis, Glenda, Sandy, and Mark Curl.
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12/15/2007 World War II veterans served as Grand Marshals of the 2007 Camden Christmas Parade.
Click here for the photo album! Thanks to all who attended and participated.
It was another great event.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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03/11/2007 Alabama Land Partners held a "Pre-Construction Grand Opening" on March 10th for their new "River View Landing" development. The sale for the lots in this new development along the banks of beautiful Lake Dannelly drew well over a hundred prospective buyers. The Industrial Development Authority leased space for the event at the new industrial park site. Wilcox Area Chamber of Commerce representatives were on hand to distribute brochures about the local area and welcome the buyers to Wilcox County.
The new development features 1 to 7 acre parcels along the lake in the Canton Bend area, just north of Camden. Demand was heavy and 46 of the 64 lots were sold the first day. The development is expected to have a positive affect on the local economy as an influx of retirees and secondary homeowners settle here.
Wilcox Area Chamber boothFor more information, see the Alabama Land Partners' website at www.alwaterfront.com
The Chamber's display of brochures and information concerning the county.
Special thanks to Black Belt Treasures for help in putting this display together.
Attendees were treated with a barbeque lunch.
Prospective buyers arrived both by land and by air for the grand opening sale.
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03/09/2007 An F4 tornado touched down in the Miller's Ferry community of Wilcox County on March 1st. The county suffered one fatality along with several injured persons. The tornado destroyed approximately 25 homes and damaged many others in this scenic, riverside community along Lake Dannelly.
The Chamber has been in contact with FEMA in regards to disaster assistance to affected residents. Persons with property damaged should contact FEMA as soon as possible at 1-800-621-FEMA in order to apply. A deadline exists to begin the process, so please do not delay your call.
A copy of the FEMA flyer with more information can be accessed at this link. You will need ADOBE reader to open the file. If you do not have this program installed on your computer, it is available free at www.adobe.com .
More photos of the damage can be found at the following website: www.wilcoxwebworks.com/tornado------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
01/24/2007 The Chamber sponsored a Tax Seminar on January 23rd that was available to all area business owners. The seminar featured three speakers and covered a broad range of tax topics including the Renewal Community Tax Incentives available to businesses in the Wilcox County area.
The event and lunch meal was sponsored by Alford & Associates and Alabama Power. The speakers included Jessica Dent with ADECA, Bill Morrison with the Alabama Department of Revenue, and Nora Gunn from the Internal Revenue Service.
Speakers and representatives from three government agency were on hand to answer tax questions.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12/29/2006 The River Cruise aboard the Gee's Bend Ferry held on the evening of Dec. 28th was a great success. The cruise was sponsored by the Chamber and Hornblower Marine and was provided free of charge to all passengers. The boat was filled to capacity (152 persons) and cruised the river for approximately an hour and a half.
The crowd was treated to live entertainment by the local band of Jimmy Brock, Brent Blackwell, Fred Sheffield, Curtis Mitchell, and Chris Burford.
Piggly Wiggly and Alabama Power Company provided the refreshments that included hot chocolate that warmed the riders.
River cruises are expected to become frequent offerings in the coming months. Stay tuned for more information on your chance to cruise the Alabama River on the Gee's Bend Ferry.
See the PHOTOS of the event at this LINK. More photos are shown on the www.geesbendferry.com website.
