LAURINBURG — Steve Gilliland took everyone on an inspirational and emotional roller-coaster ride Thursday night during the 81st annual Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce membership banquet.
Gilliland used his stories mixed with his humor to intrigue the crowd as he spoke about his life experiences and role models who helped him reach his goals and become the man he is today.
“One person, in any given moment, can change the lives of millions,” said Gilliland.
The main focus of his speech was to instill in everyone that moments should not be taken for granted. Along the way, he urged everyone to remember what is important and what really matters — emphasizing the urgency and need for everyone to put down the cell phones, take a break from social media and “be in the moment.”
He pushed to bring home the point that tomorrow is not promised and yesterday is already gone.
“Less for tomorrow, more for today, never for yesterday,” said Gilliland in reference to stressing on things that can’t be changed.
He finished his speech by highlighting the fact that true enjoyment in life is not the destination, it’s the trip, and that everyone should slow down and notice the small things that are going on around them.
“Enjoy the ride” said Gilliland.
Gilliland is a motivational speaker and a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame. He is aired daily on SiriusXM Radio and has been on the Publisher’s Bestseller List as well as being named Author of The Year. Along with his writing skills, he is a prominent business man who built a multi-million dollar company from the ground up. Even with all of his accomplishments, as expressed in his speech, above all else he is dedicated to his faith and is a family man.
More than 300 people were in attendance Thursday, and one of the highlights came when the recipients of several annual Chamber awards were announced by WLNC’s Gary Gallman. Those winners were:
— St. Andrews University President Paul Baldasare was presented with the prestigious Dunbar-McCoy Quality of Life Award. Due to a family emergency, Baldasare was unable to attend the banquet.
— Jackson Purcell of Laurinburg was presented with the 2019 Dormegan-Youth Community Service Award.
“It’s a real honor. I really do appreciate it — all the people that helped me, my friends, my family. It’s really great to be honored for what you do,” Purcell said.
— Clayton Brooks Jr. received the 2019 Chamber Member of the Year award.
— Haney’s Tire and Scotland Health Care System were each named the Chamber’s 2019 Business of The Year.
Also during Thursday’s gathering, outgoing Chamber President Jay Todd, CEO of of Service Thread, passed the gavel to incoming President Dale McInnis, president of Richmond Community College.
“I think I’m most proud of how the community came together,” Todd was quoted on WLNC. “Our theme last year was ‘Growing Together,’ so while we added 26 new members last year, there was also a lot of good activity and momentum that we saw downtown.”
“Jay Todd did outstanding work as last year’s chair,” McInnis told the membership.
He wrapped up the evening by thanking everyone for their work in the community in 2019 and expressing his intentions to continue the efforts this year.
JJ Melton can be reached at 910-506-3169 or [email protected].
