VISION 2000 AWARDS CEREMONY SET FOR MONDAY

Vision 2000 will hold its seventh annual Awards of Distinction ceremony Monday.

"The Awards of Distinction are given to people who have helped achieve the goals and objectives of Vision 2000 throughout the past year," said Mary Spell, outgoing chairman of the organization. "It salutes individuals and groups who have supported Vision 2000 and added to the quality of life in Cape Girardeau."

The breakfast ceremony begins at 7 a.m. at St. Francis Medical Center's Education Center.

Vision 2000 is probably best known for planting thousands of roses and bulbs around the city, but members also have taken on a number of community improvement issues, including storm-water and flood control, voter registration and planning and zoning upgrades.

Awards will be presented to representatives of the Bicentennial Commission, the Chamber of Commerce's Surface Transportation Committee, the Community Attitude Survey, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greater Cape Girardeau Area Recruitment Association, Planning and Zoning Commission, the Public Awareness Advisory Board, Show-Me Net, Southeast Missouri State University, Transportation Trust Fund, the Vision 2000 Steering Committee; and to David Kaempfer, Herbert Nance, Jane O'Connell and Bill Yuede.

David Hahs will be the speaker, said Melvin R. Gateley, a longtime member of Vision 2000 and a Cape Girardeau city councilman.

"This is the time when we say thank-you to a number of organizations and individuals for a job well done," Gateley said. "We like to recognize people for their hard work, and we come together to do this. It kind of gets us going for another year."