Our Chamber of Commerce includes local clubs and organization in addition to businesses – one of these is the Connell Community Club which was formerly the Lions Club in Connell. The Connell Community Club currently has approximately 25 members that meet monthly at Michael Jays. They have a Board of Directors and officers including: Helen Tobin, President; Carol Lindner, Vice-President; Terry Eagy, Secretary; and Laurie Mandler, Treasurer. These officers and Larry Smith, member-at-large, make up their Governing Board. Members can join throughout the year but the main membership drive/renewal is at the beginning of the year – membership is $10 each or $20 per family.
The Connell Community Club’s primary focus is to offer high school scholarships to graduating seniors each year. In addition to that, though, they have realized other important ways to serve our community as a whole. Several years ago, they assumed the organization of the Connell Winterfest Celebration in December which brings the community together to celebrate the holiday season. Their Chili Fries by the Fireside (Winterfest activity) was a great hit last year and they are expecting it will be even better this year! They also host the Annual First Responders BBQ in the fall – this year will be the 3rd year that they have organized a dinner to support and thank our community volunteers and heroes….a long overdue recognition that has been very well received and provides an opportunity for our community to show their appreciation. This coming year they plan on moving the event to the Community Center to accommodate the ever-growing crowd and is scheduled for Tuesday, September 18th.
In October 2017, the Community Club hosted the first ever “Candidates Meet &Greet”. This type of forum provides an opportunity for community members and political candidates to gather together to share ideas, thoughts, and opinions about the future of our local political issues. The event will take place again this fall on October 2nd at the Connell Community Center.
Community Club members organize various fundraisers to raise money for the scholarships and other community funded projects that come up throughout the year. In previous years, one of the big fundraiser activities has been providing cookies and goodies, coffee, hot chocolate and water, by donation, to travelers at the Rest Area on Highways 26 and 395 on the busy weekends of WSU Dad’s weekend in the fall and Mom’s weekend in the spring. One of the current projects they are lending support to, in conjunction with the Greater Connell Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Connell and Connell Downtown Development, is replacing the current well-used Community Bulletin Board at the Post Office with a new and much larger constructed one that will better serve the growing needs of our community. The group also schedules and advertises for the All City-Wide Yard Sale that takes place each June. They also have cleaned up graffiti in Connell and do other random “Good Neighbor” activities around town.
They are a very active group and have a lot of fun supporting this community.They recently just got Connell Community Club t-shirts that will help identify them as a group at the community functions. They welcome everyone to join in and see for yourselves what a great time they have! Connell Community Club meets the 3rd Thursday of the month at Michael Jays at 6:30pm, or if you want to come for dinner, come and join them at 5:30pm. If you have any questions or would like information on new memberships, please contact President Helen Tobin at 509-318-0113.
