A preliminary ticket count for the 2014 Chilton County Chamber of Commerce totaled more than 300 tickets sold for the banquet Friday night at the Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center.

The tickets were sold for $25 per person and included dinner, awards and entertainment with “The Songs of Patsy Cline” performed by Emily Kay Herring, Assistant Professor in Musical Theater Voice at The University of Alabama.

Shirley Springer was named the 2013 Ambassador of the Year.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Robertson said Springer was a “servant of the community” and she is present at almost every Chamber event.

“She has brought in many new members,” Robertson said. “She has volunteered at the chamber office on several occasions, and she has great energy for the task and has a warm personality that we love. She is a team player and an asset to our community.”

Lee Helms Associates was named the 2013 Business of the Year.

Janice Hull presented the award to Lee Helms, a company who keeps people up to date with disaster preparation training and equipment.

Lee Helms Associates was formed in 2003 in Clanton with their mission to help make Chilton County, the state of Alabama and other entities nationwide become safer places to live and work.

Hull said in 10 years, the business has brought more than $30 million in federal hazard mitigation grant awards to the state to protect property, warn citizens of potential threats, acquire systems to provide continuity of operations for critical facilities and save lives.

“Chilton County has aggressively acquired and implemented all of these grant awards and projects,” Hull said. “This business has also recovered millions of federal disaster recovery funds for communities and businesses nationwide.���

Gordon and Mollie Smelley won the Community Spirit Award for serving their church, community and chamber.

“Thank you for honoring me with this award,” Gordon Smelley said.

Peggy Hall, the 2013 chamber president, announced that Jannette Brasher would serve as the 2014 chamber president.

Robertson introduced Herring as the entertainment for the evening where she performed various Patsy Cline songs.

This was the first year for the banquet to be held at the Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center with the banquet previously held at Alabama Power Company.

“I think the facility at the Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center served us nicely,” Robertson said. “One of our values at the Chamber is continuous improvement and the event is always a work in progress. We always want to get better at what we do.”