“I wonder what they did at the first one,” he told the Standard-Examiner. “I don’t really know what they did at the first one, but I know it was held at the country club. I don’t know how big it was or anything else, but I think we’ve come a long ways.”

However, there was no mystery surrounding the 110th annual Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce Gala Wednesday evening.

Jennie Taylor, founder of the Major Brent Taylor Foundation and emcee of the gala, asked the audience at Wednesday’s event to put the century and a decade into perspective.

“Think back to the world 110 years ago — before Prohibition and speakeasies, before World War I had even ended, before women’s suffrage and the right to vote — 110 years is a long time for any type of organization to exist and persist,” she said.

She noted that some things may seem similar to that long-ago time period.

“Now here we are in the 2020s, they might not look back and call us a ‘Roaring’ generation, but let’s be honest — there’s a lot of noise,” she said. “There’s a lot of noise in today’s world. There’s wars and rumors of wars, there’s tension, chaos, there’s division and destruction. There are people torn apart in what otherwise should be neighborhoods coming together.”

However, Taylor said things are a little bit different in this community.

“But what’s remarkable at this Speakeasy on 25th Street, Junction City U.S.A. — in Ogden, Utah, we do things a little differently,” she said. “We are here tonight to celebrate the businesses, the educational institutions, the nonprofit organizations, you — those of you that have kept us together for more than a century. Those of you that come together to strengthen the economy, to improve the quality of life, to foster innovation and ot build bridges rather than gaps of contention.”

In addition to a welcome reception, Wednesday’s festivities included music from Blue Sage and North Front Sound and awards recognizing several individuals, nonprofits and businesses from across Weber County.

This year’s gala award recipients included:

• Large Business of the Year: INW Capstone Nutrition
• Small Business of the Year: Mountain West Architecture
• Nonprofit of the Year: Onstage Ogden
• Startup of the Year: Wellnest
• Chairperson of the Year: Jon Miller – Contacts 2
• Young Professional of the Year: Meghan Kelly, Utah Neighborhood Connection
• Volunteer of the Year: Amy Moss, Merrill Lynch
• Wall of Fame: Kerry Wahlen
• Sue Westenskow: Wasatch Peaks Credit Union

Following the event, Chamber chairman Greg Sanders said he was pleased with Wednesday’s gala.

“It’s always a well-run event,” he said. “Thank heavens we have good staff at the Chamber that keeps us pointed in the right direction, but there’s a lot of work that goes into this. It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate people who are making a real difference in our community.”

He added that the Chamber making it to its 110th gala speaks a lot to the community.

“110 years and still growing,” he said. “A thousand members we just hit — I think it’s 1,001. Just to be a part of that history is amazing to me.”

Leonhardt said Wednesday was a very illuminating night.

“It was kind of one those nights that makes people realize what the Chamber is about and the power of the Chamber when everybody comes together,” he said. “We had about 600 people attend. It’s kind of a surreal experience sometimes when you see all of the people come together.”