With no Chamber Banquet held for the 2012 year, the Friend of Henderson Award was presented at the Annual Chamber meeting last month. With privilege, the current Chamber President, Tim Carr presented the 2012 Friend of Henderson Award to the Henderson Heritage & Tourism Committee.
The Mennonite Heritage Park is a landmark and very special spot in Henderson and is a great asset to the community. This location would not be what it is and how it functions without the Henderson Heritage & Tourism Committee.  With numerous events and lots of hard work, the committee has and continues to do great things for the community and this award is much deserved.
The committee and the Heritage Park had one of the busiest years in 2012 due to the Q125 Henderson celebration. In January, they hosted a Sunday afternoon Faspa that kicked off the Q125 year featuring Dr. Lauren Friesen as the keynote speaker. Other Q125 Events they hosted were the Quilt Show held at the park in April, the Shop Tour in June, a Syphon Tube Contest during Community Days, and a Country Christmas event in November at the park that was very successful.  Their annual events were held as well including the pancake feed during Community Days and Heritage Day in September.
Around 1,400 people visited the park from 27 states, 3 Canadian provinces, and 3 foreign countries. The Country Mennonite Church was completed and a formal dedication was given for the entire park and the finished church on October 14 coinciding with Henderson’s 125th Birthday Party celebration. Planning is in progress for their next building project: a replica of the Henderson Railroad Depot. The committee maintained excellence through day to day routine and upkeep, events, projects, and so much more while also being successful financially bringing in $68,000 for the 2012 year.
Those from the committee who attended the Chamber Meeting to receive the Friend of Henderson Award were: Shannon Siebert (2010-2012 President), John Huebert (Current President), Adeline Huebert, Harvey & Marg Smith, LaVonne Thiessen, Alfred Epp, and Carl Siebert.
Thank you Henderson Heritage & Tourism Committee for all you do to make Henderson great.
