Did you see the big, beautiful moon on Friday night. I’m told that it was the biggest and brightest moon of the year — the wolf moon! I see the weather folks are calling for rain next week, too.

An officer and a gentleman
Yes, Bill Kennedy, outgoing chairman of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, is an officer and a gentleman. Kudos to Bill for an outstanding year of leadership during a difficult time for the SCV business community.

Kudos to John Shaffery
While John Shaffery has big shoes to fill, he is one of the SCV’s “big dogs” so I doubt he will have any problems in leading the SCV Chamber as its new chairman. Congrats to “Big John!”

A salute to the winners
The Chamber installation which feted Kennedy and installed Shaffery was a great event. Kudos to all the winners of SCV Chamber awards: Vino 100 was named small business of the year, SOS Entertainment earned medium business of the year and Bristol Farms captured the large business of the year award. Kudos to The Signal’s Laura Kirchhoff who was named the Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year. All well deserved!

Seen at the Chamber Installation
Wow! What a crowd at the Chamber installation! It was impossible to see everyone there. However, I did see Cameron Smyth, Larry and Sue Mankin, Ian Lamont, Don and Cheri Fleming, Darlene and Robert Gandara, David Gauny, Jill Mellady, Jeff and Kiki Hacker, Morris Thomas, Lila Littlejohn, Gail Shaughnessy, Jim and Stephanie Weiss, Danielle and Duane Cooper, Bill and Kathy Kennedy, Shelley and Marshall Hann, Judy and Joel Cox, Jayne and Chris Fall, Greg Amsler, Bob and Kathy Kellar, Marsha McLean, Jim Backer, RJ and Patty Kelly, Dora Zavala, Ann and Bob Unger, Jason Crawford, Marjanne Priest, Lil Lepore and Cheri Fraizer, Dana Copp, Mike Dunkle, Ed and Valerie Masterson, Thomas Petersen, Laurene Weste and James McCarthy, Bruce and Gloria Fortine, Pam Ingram, Kris Hough, Margo and Bob Hudson, Elizabeth Hopp, Darrell and Patty Paulk, Andy and Laura Gallardo, Carol and Dan Masnada, Sue Saffir, Randy Moberg and Mitzi Like, Kim Altobello, Clare Macaulay, DDS and Lou Lintereur, Sue Reynolds, Paul Strickland, Stephen Altobello, Diana Vose and Ernest Guaderrama, TimBen and Ingrid Boydston, John and Debbie Heys, Jim Hicken, Rose and Steve Chegwin, Bob Haueter, Mike and Denise Hause, Ken Striplin, Jay Thomas, Sue Carpenter and Tim Burkhart.

Support the troops
The American Legion post in Newhall will host a BBQ luncheon on Saturday, Feb. 27 in honor of the active military, recently discharged military, Blue Star Mothers and Gold Star Mothers. The event kicks off at 1 p.m. Show your support for our brave troops by sending in your RSVP by Feb. 13 to elindgreen@sbcglobal.net. Saugus resident and film star Kristy Swanson is helping plan the event. Kristy spent her Thanksgiving away from husband Lloyd Eisler and baby son Magnus to be with the troops in Afghanistan. Now that’s showing support the hard way! Here’s an easy way to show your support, eat some barbecue!

Helping Haiti
Kudos to all who spent Wednesday “Dining Out for Disaster Relief.” The event held at Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewing Co., Salt Creek Grille, Baja Fresh Valencia, Baja Fresh Canyon Country, Egg Plantation, The Tea Gardens, Lampost Pizza and Lazy Dog Café raised $6,200 for the American Red Cross Haitian relief efforts.