ZETTA PENNER
This week we celebrate Lazetta (Zetta) Penner, The Cordell Beacon’s Person of the Year. Join us on Thursday, April 13th at 5:30 p.m. for a reception honoring Zetta at Bean and Ladle located at 116 N Market in downtown Cordell.
Zetta has been a staple to our community for many years. In fact, many things we have and do in our community exist in large part thanks to her. Zetta has been named The Cordell Beacon’s Person of the Year due to her countless contributions and her love for this city.
To name only a few of her accomplishments throughout her career, Zetta brought Dollar General, which serves all of Cordell’s citizens, by purchasing the building and securing a person to fix it to Dollar General’s specifications. During her time on the Chamber of Commerce, along with the help of another Chamber member, Zetta started the Cordell Pumpkin Festival we all know and love. Zetta applied for and received a financial grant for Lee Park with the help of other City Volunteers, allowing the construction and completion of the park pavilion. One of her accomplishments, which is enjoyed every summer by many families, is the Summer League sports program. With a donation of only four bats and six balls, she started the first ever T-Ball program for boys and girls. This was inspired by her own daughters not having a league to play in as there was only a league for boys at that time.
Zetta has been an active member of the Cordell Chamber of Commerce and has served the community for over 40 years. She served as Vice President and during that time, with the help of Cordell citizens and local clubs, raised over $7,000 to light up the Courthouse Square at Christmas.
Until her retirement this month, she served with dedication on the Cordell City Council.
In previous years, she was chosen as Cordell’s Volunteer of the Year, Cordell’s Professional Person of the Year, and is in the Cordell Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame.
“Lazetta (Zetta) could not be any prouder to be a citizen of Cordell, Oklahoma. She texts her girls every single day beginning with the words ‘All is well in the best city in the world’,” stated her daughter, Cindy Butler.