DINNER HIGHLIGHTS INDUSTRIAL WEEK ACTIVITIES

A busy week is planned for the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's "Industrial Appreciation Week."

"We've had great response," said Linda Minner, marketing and special projects director for the Chamber. "Ticket sales have been good, and we should top the crowd of 850 people who attended last year's industrial dinner."

The dinner is the highlight event of a crowded week of activities, which get under way Monday with the annual Industrial Appreciation Golf Tournament, to be held at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Other events during the week included First Friday Coffee, at 7:30 Friday morning at the Drury Lodge, and the Industrial Relations Seminar, "Defusing Trauma in the Workplace," at 9 a.m. Friday at the Drury Lodge.

Grady Jim Robinson, a writer and humorist, will be guest speaker at the dinner.

Robinson is no stranger to crowds. He has entertained large corporation groups such as Anheuser-Busch, Ralston Purina, AT&T and others. He has appeared on radio and television and is a member of the National Speakers Association. His stories about growing up in Arkansas have appeared in Reader's Digest, Sports Illustrated, Ford Times and other magazines.

He served as a minister of youth and guidance counselor for churches in Oklahoma and Tennessee, and used a combination of thought-provoking messages with a big dose of hilarious stories.

The highlight of the dinner, which starts with a social hour at 6 p.m., is the presentation of the annual "Commitment to Excellence" award to the "Industry of the Year." The industry of the year will join some big names of industry, which have received the huge trophy over the past seven years. The award was started in 1988.

Last year's winner was the Florsheim Shoe Co. The first-ever Industry of the Year was General Sign, in 1988. In between are: Lone Star Industries, 1989; Procter & Gamble Paper Products Co., 1990; BioKyowa Inc., 1991; Concord Publishing House-Southeast Missourian, 1992; and Dana Corp., 1993.

More than 120 golfers will gather at the Cape Country Club Monday by 12:30, for a shotgun start in a four-player scramble. A total of 120 people have signed up for the tournament, and a "few more may show up," said Minner. A light lunch will be provided at 11:30 a.m. Last year, 128 golfers participated in the tournament.

Included in the tournament is a prize for the first hole-in-one on No. 16. Other prizes will be presented for longest putt on No. 9, first hole-in-one on No. 5, and closest to the pin on holes 7, 8, 11 and 13.

The special Industrial Relations Seminar will be held Friday, featuring speakers from QPI Security Systems Inc. and the Community Counseling Center. "Defusing Trauma in the Workplace," is the topic of the 9 a.m. seminar, which will be held immediately following the Cape Girardeau Chamber's First Friday Coffee.

Guest speaker at the coffee will be Elizabeth Schmucker, coordinator with the Missouri Mentoring Partnership.

Industrial Week schedule

Monday -- Golf tournament, shotgun start at 12:30 p.m., Cape Girardeau Country Club.

Wednesday -- Industrial Appreciation Dinner, social hour at 6 p.m., dinner at 7, Show-Me Center.

Friday -- First Friday Coffee, 7:30 a.m., Drury Lodge.

Friday -- Industrial Relations Seminar, 9 to 11:39 a.m., Drury Lodge.