Shore to headline annual chamber meeting

Jim Shore, creator of the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce’s limited edition historic sites series in 1993 and now a nationally known award-winning American folk artist, will be guest speaker at the 53rd annual meeting of the chamber on Jan. 29.

Founders Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of the annual meeting.

The event will be held at the Fairway Room at the Lancaster Golf Club, beginning at 6:15 p.m., with a reception preceding the dinner meeting.

Shore has been designing for Enesco Corp. since 2000, creating the Jim Shore line of seasonal and home accessories that are sold world-wide. His work combines elements of folk art with a vibrant color pallet applied to traditional themes.

Shore is the originator of the Pencil design, the tall stylized sculpture version that redefined cultural icons such as Santa Claus. Over the years, Shore has designed more than 3,000 Santas, one of his earliest, most popular creations.

While living in the Heath Springs area, he founded his own company, Designs Americana, to market his sculptures, and during this time, partnered with the chamber to develop the limited edition collection of historic Lancaster County sites, a 10-year relationship.

Since joining Enesco, Shore has received multiple awards from the National Association of Limited Edition Dealers, the premier trade organization in the gift and collectible industry. He was named the association’s Artist of the Year in 2003, 2004 and 2005, Rising Star in 2002 and Christmas Collectible of the Year in 2003 and 2005.

“The Lancaster chamber is grateful for its past association with Jim Shore. His beautiful renditions of 10 of our local historic sites continue to be requested, and the national recognition he now enjoys is certainly well-deserved,” chamber chairman Jay Rainey said. “We have asked Jim to come back to Lancaster now, and tell us about his career journey – as a struggling artist, as a small businessman, as an independent designer and today creating for national companies. It is a great and timely story for the Lancaster County business community, and we look forward to having him with us.”

The chamber’s new officers and board members for 2009 will be introduced and retiring officers and directors will be honored for their service during the meeting.

The annual meeting will be highlighted by the announcement of the recipients of the 2008 Lancaster County Volunteer of the Year award, which is cosponsored by Founders Federal Credit Union; the Lancaster County Small Business of the Year honor, cosponsored by First Citizens Bank; and the Citizenship and Service Award for Lancaster County, sponsored by Duke Energy.

A popular event feature returning this year will be a silent and live auction that began several years ago. A variety of items will be on display during the evening for those wishing to participate in the  auction.

Our live auction, featuring Richard Patterson, is back with more unique items of interest – including special selections signed by Jim Shore – that should provide everyone the opportunity to participate,” Rainey said.

Chamber members will receive information and ticket reservation forms about the annual meeting in early January.

Member businesses interested in sponsoring this year’s annual meeting should contact chamber President Dean Faile at 283-4105, or by e-mail at deanfaile@comporium.net.