DECATUR — Gene and Norma Jean Wilmoth were honored on April 4 by the Decatur of Chamber Commerce for their lifetime of service to the chamber and the community.

Chamber of Commerce president Royce Johnson presented the Wilmoths with a glass commemorative statue during the meeting.

The couple - who have been married for 60 years - have been involved with the Chamber of Commerce since it was founded. Jean Johnson said she tried to find out how many years the Wilmoths have been serving the community but, after much research about the many activities they have beeninvolved in, she finally decided it should be a lifelong award.

“We don’t count years, we count love,” she said.

Both Gene and Norma Jean have served the community in many capacities over the years. Some of the memories the Wilmoths shared at the April 4 meeting included Gene’s service on the Decatur Fire Department in the days that firefighters had a special phone installed in their home, and of Norma Jean’s service as a Sunday school teacher. Norma Jean said she had the pleasure of teaching many of the Chamber of Commerce members when they were children. She continued to teach until just last year.

“It was such a privilege for me to get to do that,” she said.

Recalling their years on the Chamber, Gene and Norma Jean said they have taken pictures of several generations of children sitting in Santa’s lap after the Christmas parade.

The couple has also organized the annual Easter egg hunt for a number of years and packed thousands of eggs with candy.

“We sure appreciatethis,” Gene said of the award. “We did everything because we wanted to.”

In other business, Chamber of Commerce members discussed the annual Easter egg hunt, which will be held on April 23 in Veterans Park. David Flynt reported that he will be setting up tables in the park for a sound system and prizes. He said there will be some bigger prizes this year, such as bicycles, in addition to Easter baskets.

Donna Jennings reported she bought an additional 200 eggs for the event, and chamber members discussed what kinds of candy to buy to stuff the eggs.

Flynt said he will be working with city parks department manager Mike Barnett to select areas in the park for the different age categories to hunt eggs.

Details about the exact time of the hunt and the age categories have not yet been released.

Community, Pages 20 on 04/13/2011