The annual Newcastle Chamber of Commerce State of the City luncheon was Tuesday, April 23 at the Newcastle Library’s Community Center with guest speaker Mayor Karl Nail. Several new attendees were there including candidates running for public office.
State House District 20 candidates Lonnie Burns and Mike Whaley were in attendance, as was Kendal Sacchieri, current McClain County Assessor who is a candidate for State Senate District 43.
First-time attendees to a chamber function, and those who had not attended in a while, included Michael Cooper, new to The Barn at Country Club; Bill Young, senior vice president with The First National Bank & Trust; Jamie Schmidt, senior vice president with The First National Bank & Trust; Leigh Heatly, assistant with the Newcastle Public Schools College and Career Center; Amber Browning, with Health Promotions at Norman Regional Health System; and Heather Justine, with TSET Healthy Living.
Special guests from the City of Newcastle attending included: Mayor Karl Nail, City Councilman Gene Reid, City Manager Kevin Self, Assistant City Manager Jeannette McNally, Public Relations Director Scott Hannan, Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Marks, Court Clerk Starr Cox, and the Director/ Safety Officer with Emergency Management, Donnie Sullins.
The First National Bank and Trust, which has a 130year history, was the luncheon’s main sponsor. Bank representative and Chamber of Commerce board member Brittany Houser had the honor of announcing guest speaker Mayor Karl Nail (related story on State of the City in this issue).
She said Nail is a 33-year resident of Newcastle, who has had a 34-year career with the United States Department of Agriculture and is now the District Director USDA-FSA for Southwest Oklahoma, and he’s an area farmer and rancher, as well as being the mayor of Newcastle.
Houser said Nail has served the City on either the Planning Commission or the City Council for the past 20 years.
Among announcements made were that the chamber will have its annual Veterans Recognition luncheon May 28 and the annual Non-Profit luncheon June 25. Also, several chamber members will make a trip to the Oklahoma State Capitol this week to talk with elected officials.
