"Not only did we solve a problem, but we had a great deal of fun doing it," she said.
"The question I keep getting asked is what's next, and I think you all deserve an answer to that," Elliott told the crowd at the Orchards Restaurant about life after politics.
"Good morning," he said. "Welcome to Sheetz. Pump four is on."
Farewells come with going away presents and Plummer's was a 6-foot eagle carved from the trunk of a tree felled to make way for the county's Agricultural Heritage Center, said Human Resources Director John Aguirre. The center, still under construction, will be dedicated in Elliott's honor, with a bronze plaque bearing his likeness, said Planning Director Phil Tarquino.
The more than 11,000 acres of preserved farmland in the county is equal to the land occupied by Chambersburg, Waynesboro, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Orrstown and Mont Alto, said Elliott, a member of the Pennsylvania State Farmland Preservation Board.
There were proclamations from the Pennsylvania Senate, the lieutenant governor and mayor of Chambersburg read during the luncheon, something Thomas said he could not match.
"I wish I could give you a proclamation, but a single commissioner can't do that," he said.
"This is a bittersweet time, because we've had some very good years together," said Thomas. Commissioners-elect David S. Keller and Bob Ziobrowski also were on hand.
Former county commissioner and acting Chambersburg Mayor Samuel W. Worley joked that he wanted to present them with the keys to the city, "but in my short term as mayor I have not been entrusted with the keys."
He noted they will join a "Hall of Fame" of former commissioners, a list that includes just Worley, Fred Rock and Ed Beck Jr. among the survivors.
"I didn't realize what a big deal this was until Mike Ross walked in early," Warden John Wetzel, the master of ceremonies, said of the famously tardy president of the Franklin County Area Development Corp.
Ross said he has known both commissioners for many years "and candidly, I've never really been impressed."
"That ought to be a best seller," Ross said of Elliott's plans to possibly write a book. He said it might also be used as "a cure for insomnia."
"Nobody has represented this county better than these two individuals," Ross said, turning serious.
County Administrator John Hart said the commissioners have taken 6,000 official actions, 11,000 personnel actions and passed 160 proclamations in a dozen years. They also presided over 20 elections in which more than half a million people voted, he said.
"Not only is your hair in place, but Warren is the calmest person under stress," Hart said, referring to Elliott's imperturbable hairstyle.
When Tarquino asked how it handled on a blustery day like Monday, Elliott said, "I can go 40 to 50 mph."
"Every decision she makes, part of that decision is based in care," Hart said of Plummer.
"To quote Jimmy Stewart, 'It's a Wonderful Life,'" Elliott said. "I honestly do feel like the richest man on the Earth."
Photos by Ric Dugan/Staff Photographer
Commissioner Cheryl Plummer is acknowledged at a Monday farewell luncheon for her and G. Warren Elliott.
Franklin County Commissioner G. Warren Elliott is comforted as he wipes tears at a farewell luncheon for him and Cheryl Plummer.
