McNece to speak at Difference Makers banquet

Visitors to the Daily American Republic’s Difference Makers banquet will hopefully leave with a good feeling about all the wonderful things being done by volunteers in our community.

We have several good nominations, though you still have plenty of time to nominate someone if you’ve been putting it off. Nominations are due by 4 p.m. July 14.

The banquet will be Aug. 22 at the Holiday Inn banquet room in Poplar Bluff. The festivities are scheduled to get under way at 6 p.m.

In case you haven’t heard about Difference Makers, I’ll explain. The DAR is asking for nominations of people who volunteer their time and talents to help make the area a better place to live. You can nominate someone by filling out the form in the newspaper or you can go to darnews.com and fill out the form online.

The newspaper will select 10 finalists and those 10 finalists will be honored at the banquet. A Difference Maker of the Year will be announced that night as well.

All finalists will receive a prize package and the Difference Maker of the Year will receive additional prizes.

Our co-sponsors for the event include Smith & Co., Bank of Missouri, Southern Bank, Sterling Bank, First Midwest Bank, Ellis Battery, Poplar Bluff Schools, Pack’s Do-It Center, Quality Air, Holiday Inn, Godfather’s Pizza, The Donut House and Barker’s Towing.

When visiting these businesses please tell them thank you for all they do for the community and being a part of the Difference Makers program.

One of the highlights of the evening will be our keynote speaker. The DAR is happy to announce Janet McNece has accepted our invitation to share her thoughts on the importance of volunteerism in our community.

Janet is no stranger to helping others.

She believes in serving her community and has been a supporter of many local groups including Women Aware, Inc. (25 years), March of Dimes (was the chairperson for 10 years), and the Chambers of Commerce in Poplar Bluff, Jonesboro, Ark., and Pocahontas, Ark.

She also has done leadership training in the local school system, and has supported the Ripley County Bullying & Drug Awareness campaign.

Janet has owned and operated Productive Staffing, LLC for almost 25 years. She said she “loves running a business that helps people improve their lives both financially and by gaining new skills and finding the career that’s right for them.”

As a side hobby she has been actively involved in both long term and vacation rental properties.

Janet and her husband William have been married for 28 years. They have four children and two granddaughters.

The DAR will publish a special section a week or so before the banquet to introduce the Difference Maker finalists.

The newspaper will share some of its revenue from the Difference Makers program with the United Gospel Rescue Mission. It’s our way of giving back to the community.

Residents of the mission will also cook and help serve the meal at the banquet.

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Chris is the publisher of the Daily American Republic and can be reached at cpruett@darnews.com .