January 15, 2015 –
MAYETTA: Tickets are on sale for the 10thAnnual Holton/Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame Banquet that will honor Jim Potter (deceased) who was selected in the 2015 Hall of Fame Class. The event will be held on February 5 at the EUM Family Life Center in Holton.
Potter will be honored along with Brad Stauffer, Bill & Debra Brown and Mike Ford with a social that begins at 5:30 p.m. and the dinner at 6:30 p.m. and tickets are $30 and can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce office, located at 104 W. Fifth St. (on the north side of the Holton Town Square). Tickets are also available at main bank locations in Holton.
Tribal Council leaders, both past and present, will participate in the induction ceremony, along with other longtime employees and friends that were associated with Potter.
Jim Potter, 56, served on the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) Tribal Council for 18 years, the last eight years as Secretary. He was killed in a motorcycle/deer accident on June 11, 2014 on the common land near his home. Part of his legacy included being instrumental in bringing the Prairie Band Casino & Resort (formerly Harrah’s Prairie Band Casino) into Jackson County and serving on the tribe’s health board and chairing the pow-wow committee. He was also a representative of the tribe in the National Congress of American Indians organization at one time.
Potter was also a tireless promoter of Holton/Jackson County and the PBPN where he was raised. He had the unique ability of bridging the two groups together and served as president of the Jackson County Economic Development Corporation and the Jackson County Tourism Council. In addition, he was on the Banner Creek Science Center board of directors. On a smaller scale, when he was a resident of the city of Mayetta, he served as the president of the Mayetta Business Association and was also a member of the Mayetta Masonic Lodge.
Other Potawatomis who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame are Roy Hale, the late Francis Jensen and the late Vestina Nonken.