(2009 Award Recipients Shown Above)

Who will be honored? Whose name will go down in history? The deadline to nominate someone special is January 7th, 2010. A committee has been formed to review the nominations. The winner is selected based on accomplishments – not by the number of nominations received. Criteria to nominate an individual include the nominee’s contribution to the community’s welfare and betterment; participation in all-around community activities and civic enterprise; evidence of lasting contribution to community welfare; evidence of leadership ability; cooperation with individuals and civic organizations; unselfish devotion and contribution without thought to personal gain. The person nominated must live in Dixon and the contributions and community activities must have taken place in the City of Dixon. Nomination forms are available at the Chamber of Commerce which is located in the Transit Center at 220 N. Jefferson Street, or call us at (707) 678-2650.                   

We are excited to announce the theme for our dinner dance remains, “A Country Affair”. In addition to the presentation of the Citizen of the Year award - the Ambassador of the Year, Business of the Year, Veteran of the year & the installation of the Chamber’s Board of Directors will also take place. So, mark your calendars now for Saturday, January 30th, 2010 and get ready to dance the night away! For more information, please contact your Dixon Chamber of Commerce at (707) 678-2650.

134th Annual Dixon May Fair Parade - Nostalgic

(Article courtesy of Ryan Chalk, reporter for The Reporter)

Like a fine wine, some things get better with age. And judging by the thousands who showed up to watch on Saturday, the Dixon May Fair Parade is no exception.

At no other time could you get a better feel for the heartbeat of a city as you can when California's oldest parade rambles down Dixon's First Street. For the 134th time in history, memories were made for those attending for the first time, and feelings of nostalgia were conjured up for those who haven't missed a parade in decades. "Oh we love it," said Jan Hardy, of Dixon, who was following the last parade entry of the day, a float entered by the Dixon Downtown Business Association. Hardy and her husband run a local business called Ideas Unique By Rich and Jan, and said that she has been enjoying the parade since the 1960s. "We like to see this be a good event," said Hardy. "It's good for the kids to get out with their clubs and participate with the town," she added.

This year's parade theme, hosted by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce was "The Masquerade Parade." At times, First Street took on the flair of New Orleans during Mardi Gras, complete with masked dancers and beads being waved about.

With their chairs carefully placed at the corner of West A and First streets, Dominic Ayayla, 10, his sister Abigail, 4, and brother Mike, 2, had front row seats and a clear view of their father as he danced by on one of the floats. No stranger to marching in the parade, this year Dominic found himself playing a vital role in the running of the event. Wearing the costume of a jester, Dominic carried a shovel and followed one of the many groups of horses that tend to leave a mess here and there along the parade route. "They just love it," said Dominic's mother, Amber Ayayla. "It's like the whole town shuts down for the May Fair and the parade. It's great," she added.

The parade was led by a dozen flag-bearing veterans, with a dozen or more active duty Navy personnel from Travis Air Force Base in tow. For two hours after, numerous dance studios, little league teams, trucking companies, car clubs and marching bands filtered down the strip.

Jill Orr, who has served as an organizer of the parade for the last 15 years said that people started lining their chairs up along First Street as early as Friday evening. And despite fewer entries than years past, this parade was longer, and involved more people. "In all, I have to say that I am so impressed with how everyone did," said Orr. A woman who wears many hats, Orr, a lifelong Dixon resident, wore each of them at some point during the parade. Acting as second vice president of the Dixon Chamber of Commerce and president of the Dixon Downtown Business Association, Orr even took her spot in the parade as Dixon's Citizen of the Year. "I was born and raised here and people ask, why do you like the parade so much," said Orr. "It's just this feeling you have. I can't explain it. You're waving at people and they're waving back. It's just a really happy time," she added.