Olney in America brings hometown vibe to 3rd annual concert, fireworks

For the third straight year, the Olney Chamber of Commerce [OCC] hosted the popular Olney in America.

The 4th of July celebration was held at Olney Country Club that provided a beautiful backdrop for the event.

Olney in America had many fun activities that began with a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by Presley Haile and a fly over by Jerry Keeter in his Air Tractor plane.

Next up was a local group featuring Casey Keeter on guitar and vocals, Todd Phillips on bass and Kevin Bullock on fiddle.

This year’s headliner was popular country singer Race Ricketts with Presley Haile on back-up vocals. The evening was capped off after the sun set with a fireworks extravaganza that had the crowd whooping and hollering.

The event featured many food trucks and vendors back for a third year with delicious options that included BBQ and fresh lemonade.

The kid zone delighted children who attended, with a particularly popular face painting station, which seemed to have a line from the beginning to the end of the event.

The event has grown in attendance each year and looks to be a celebration that Olney can continue to look forward to well into the future.

Sponsors this year included Diamond level sponsors-Tower Extrusions LLC, Beyond Faith Hospice LLC, and Brazos Communications.

Other sponsors included, Rocky Hickam Towing, Hometown Coffee and Tea, Stewart’s Food Store, Spirit of Texas Ranch, Olney Hamilton Hospital, Olney Country Club, Ingleside Ranch, Don’s Butane Service, Inc., 3T Meats, CenterWell Home Health, Groves P.K., Callie Hicks realtor, Here’s Your Sign – 76374, Beyond Faith Hospice, LLC, Hersteller May, Inc, Riddle Firearms and First State Bank.

The Olney Chamber of Commerce wished to express their deepest and most sincere gratitude to all the volunteers, sponsors and helpers who made the event a complete success.

For more information about OCC events or how to join the chamber please visit their Facebook page Olney Chamber, (940)564-5879 or visit the office at 108 E. Main St. Olney, Texas 76374.

Outgoing Chamber of Commerce President Deidre Brown marked Olney in America as her last day on the job. She and her family will be moving to Coppell, Texas. She worked with the Chamber board of directors to implement a full slate of activities during her tenure. “We knew we wanted to do more for businesses and the community ... one way we did that was create sponsorship tiers ... to make the existing events better,” she said. “The purpose of the Chamber is to make the community a better place to live and that’s been the goal of all of this since I’ve been here.”

In her two years as Chamber director, she learned “how much the communtiy here cares about each other and what all they will do to support each other and to make things happen.”