Pearl Carter Williams

Last Friday evening the Chamber of Commerce hosted our Installation Dinner. During that event I had the pleasure of introducing the Business Woman and Business Men of the year for 2009.  In an effort to prepare for this evening, I set up a meeting with the Williams Family and in that meeting, I came to understand why the Williams were chosen.  In this article I will tell the story of why Pearl Williams has come to be so respected in Mariposa County that her peers have chosen her to be Business Woman of the year.

Lets go back to 1847.....this is when Bill Williams of Cornwall, England arrived in America and found his way to the Silver Fields in early frontier Nevada. By 1850 Bill had made his way to the Gold fields of Hornitos and settled down. There he married and sired 12 boys and a girl. One of Bill's boys married and gave birth to 2 sons, Carver and Winford or "Winnie" to his friends.

The Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce and recognize the 2009 Business "Men" of the Year. For the first time in over twenty years, two brothers were first elected as a pair and then garnered the voting majority. So on Friday, February the 5th, at the Chamber Installation Dinner, Trent and Gary Williams will both be honored with this, the Chambers highest award. And continuing in the recognition of this long time Mariposa family for their support and contribution to our community, Pearl Williams, mother of these boys, has been voted Business Woman of the Year for 2009.

Marilyn Lidyoff, Business Development Coordinator of Mariposa County Economic Development Office has announced that the Microenterprise Business Assistance Program will be launched on February 4, 2010.  A workshop has been scheduled on Thursday, February 4, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Board of Supervisor's Chambers, 5100 Bullion Street, Mariposa, CA, AND at the Hotel Jeffrey 5001 Main Street, Coulterville, CA, from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. to discuss program requirements, income qualifications, application process and type of information required.  Loan applications will be available for Mariposa businesses..  Assistance will be provided by the VALLEY Small Business Development Corporation and the Mariposa County Economic Development Office.