MADISON – The moon beckoned Friday night over Toyota Field as students showcased their activities and local businesses lined the concourse; the aroma of hotdogs, ice cream and sudsy draft beer wafted on the dusky breeze, while Rocket City Trash Pandas’ mascot Sprocket high-fived kids donning colorful balloon headdresses.
No, it wasn’t a baseball game. It was the first ever Celebrate Madison event acting as a backdrop to Madison Mayor Paul Finley’s annual State of the City address.
According to Michelle Epling, executive director of the Madison Chamber of Commerce who emceed the speaking portion of the evening, Finley’s State of the City address, formerly known as “Connect,” has been rebranded this year going forward as “Celebrate Madison”.
“It was an opportunity to highlight our community by offering multiple opportunities to help business owners grow their business while families enjoy quality of life in the city of Madison,” she said.
There were free hot dogs and drinks for the first 500 visitors through the gates as the family-friendly “pre-game” fun started at 5:30 with balloon twisting and visits with Sprocket.
The James Clemens High School Jazz Band had guests tapping their toes to Dixieland music at 6 p.m.
The mayor’s address was preceded by the James Clemens Junior ROTC Color Guard who presented the colors, followed by a special presentation from the Madison City Board of Education president Tim Holtcamp.
The Pledge of Allegiance was followed by Ariana DeThomas, a petite young lady with extraordinary musical range who belted out the National Anthem like she was born to do so.
Polaris Vice President DeWayne Howell, chairman of the Board for the Madison Chamber of Commerce, took to the podium to thank those who supported the Chamber through two years of the pandemic.
“The mission of the Madison Chamber of Commerce is to build a strong economic environment by nurturing and supporting its citizens,” he said. “I can’t think of a better way to fulfill that mission than to bring everyone together tonight to celebrate all of our successes.”
The event was sponsored by Meta and Facebook’s community development regional manager Katie Comer congratulated Epling and her team at the Chamber for bringing the event together.
“Meta is proud to call Madison County home to our Alabama Data Center,” she said. “Through local jobs, supporting nonprofits and schools, we’re committed to helping the community here thrive.
“We have been a proud supporter of the State of the City address since we broke ground on our Facebook Data Center here in 2018.
“We have so many of our team members in Madison and we have found such an amazing home here, whether it is Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp or you are using a headset in the Metaverse, we are bringing the entire globe together with a talented local workforce.”
Tanner Finley introduced his father, who spoke for about 20 minutes interspersed with locally produced videos of Madison and the past year’s highlights.
You may find more on the content of the speech by clicking here.
The Celebrate Madison festivities came to an end in a spectacular burst of fireworks sponsored by Huntsville Utilities.
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