KCVB Recognition Dinner Speech, by Nancy Birkenfeld

Good Evening everyone. The City of Goree has had many ups and downs over the past year, and sometimes even what we see as a “down” turns into and “up”!! I stand before you tonight to tell you about some of these ups and downs.

Some of our major ups were:
· Overwhelming support by our citizens for implementing a 4A and 4B sales tax for economic development for the City of Goree.
· Cleanup days that truly “cleaned up” several eyesores around town and disposed of pesticides, paint, oil and other hazardous waste
· In that same vein, the Goree VFD assisted in the demolition of 3 abandoned structures
· The Goree Memorial Building received a fresh coat of paint and new laminate wood floors
· The Goree garage sale building was cleaned out and readied for a new purpose
· The second floor of the City building was cleaned out, new windows were installed and most important, the leaking roof was replaced.
· Two other old buildings were cleaned out and old tired worn out awnings were taken down
· Petitioned TXDOT for exit signs to Miller Creek Reservoir and received them
· Our Volunteers spent many hours cleaning up and manicuring our new overpass area for homecoming
· October homecoming was a success with many “ex’s” expressing interest in helping restore and improve Goree
· Two new businesses – “A Place to Stay and Trainham wild game processing were established
· We received approval for two Office of Rural Community Affairs grants – water system improvements and long range planning
· Approval for a USDA-RD grant to replace fire hydrants and a USDA-RD Grant and low interest loan to replace every water meter in the city
· Miller Creek Ranch was featured in the Dallas Morning News
· Going for Greatness in Goree (GGG) non-profit corp was approved by the IRS and featured in the Abilene Reporter News
· City of Goree website developed and blog implemented to keep all interested citizens and ex’s informed
· Being a part of the KCVG – the Real Rural Symposium, the job fair, and hosting KCVG monthly meetings.

A couple down’s were:
· Losing our Meals on Wheels program for our senior citizens
· Hearing about the possibility of Munday CISD closing the Goree campus and moving Jr High to Munday

And a down that might have a silver lining was Peek’s Service Station closing. The story about Peek’s being the last full service gas station in Goree was featured in the Abilene Reporter News, and on the internet, which led to an interested couple from New Mexico taking the time to come to Goree, explore, and purchase a home. They have also rented the old Peek’s service station with the idea of establishing a new business there.

Our goals for the future are lofty. We want to:
· Preserve our remaining historic buildings
· Continue working on electrical wiring and plumbing for our new City Lodge above the City office · Install New sidewalks and awnings
· Continue Water, sewer, and street improvements, especially continuing to lower our water loss ratio
· Further renovations to the Memorial Building
· Reopen the popular Goree Garage Sale as a “Junktique” resale shop.

All these achievements have been made possible through the inspiration of the KCVG and Remelle, in particular. I want to especially recognize Kent & Tammie Trainham who couldn’t be with us tonight, (they chose to leave today for a Carribean Cruise instead) their vision and dedication to improving the City of Goree is unwavering and truly an inspiration that motivates everyone to give of their time, their talent and their resources to improve life in the City of Goree and the surrounding area. Thank you.

Happy 90th Birthday...

back: David, Stephen

front: Philip, Elizabeth, John

Elizabeth Martin recently celebrated her 90th birthday with her four sons, nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Elizabeth is a lovely lady that is in good health and still drives. There's no telling how many football games, banquets, and other events she's attended in Goree since her husband, Forrest, was a teacher, coach and principal at the Goree School for many years, and all her sons went to school in Goree. Forrest passed away in 2004. Elizabeth with son, John, and his wife attended the 2005 Goree Homecoming.