The March 14th Membership luncheon hosted around 120 people at the American Legion Post 147 in Marion. Board chair Michelle Hamilton welcomed the attendees and Pastor Jason Thrash of Cornerstone Church provided the invocation. The St. Patrick's-themed lunch provided by the American Legion was enjoyed by the crowd. Luncheon sponsors, Southern Illinois Rejuvenation, were represented by co-owners John Covington and Jason Powell. The 6-person program panel provided insightful information about the different facets of fraud facing our business community. Speaker profiles and resources are provided below.
After the program, State Senator Dale Fowler presented checks to the 2022 SI Made Expo Charity, Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois and Operation Honor Guard, of $22,582.65 to each organization. He also announced the dates for the2023 SI Made Expo event and named the 2023 event proceeds organization, VETS.
Welcome New Members:
- Active Day of Marion Adult Day Center – Mikilyn Walker
- American Red Cross – Dawn Morris
- Boyton Street Community Center - Stephanie Willis
- Coaction Consulting – Shanna Parmley
- Take Action Today – Shara Robinson
Recent Projects
Last week we held our first ‘Bite of Reality’ financial literacy event with Marion High School and interacted with around 400 business class students. Students were given a career, spouse, child, and monthly income. They then worked with event volunteers (have them raise their hands) at expense tables to try and make a monthly budget work. The volunteers and students learned a lot from the experience, and we look forward to future one-on-one opportunities with our students.
Blog post about the event...
On Sunday, the 11th annual
Chamber Foundation Bass Tournament
took place with 42 teams. Thank you do this year’s sponsors including Hill Printing, Pyramid Acres, First Southern Bank, and Big Bass Sponsors: Hampleman Law, LLC, Interstate Tire Pros Auto Service, SouthernTrust Bank, Williamson County Treasurer - Ashley Gott, and Vernell’s Interstate Service. Proceeds for this event go to the Chamber Foundation and the Scholarship Program.
Check out scores and ranking here...
Upcoming Projects
The Black Diamond of Businesses will be hosting a special Business After Hours
on March 23rd at Rent One Park from 4 – 7 pm to spotlight their exciting future plans!
On March 24th, Oasis Lawn and Garden will celebrate the opening of their new location at 3000 West DeYoung (next to Dillards) with a
Ribbon Cutting at 4 pm and open house till 6 pm. Refreshments will be provided from the Turn.
If you are interested in mentoring the leaders and employees of tomorrow, we invite you to take part in the
Marion High School FBLA Job Shadow Day on March 31st. We are also working with the MHS business department to establish a contact list of potential shadowing site for local students.
Log onto MarionIllinois.com under “Marion” and “Mentorship” to enter contact information for your organization.
Members of the Business Advocacy Task Force will be attending
Chamber Day on April 18th in Springfield. This is a great opportunity to hear presentations from officials across the state on issues that will impact our region.
Learn More...
Save the date for an
APOGEEce workshop featuring Tim Miles on April 19th at 9 am at the Pavilion for his presentation ‘Fixing Recruitment & Retention with a Little TLC’. Tim was unable to join us for the APOGEE leadership event in the fall, and we are excited to have him back!
Register Today!
This year’s
Grad Spree event is scheduled for May 18th and we are excited for you to participate through volunteerism or donations to the Marion Chamber Foundation. These resources will provide a great experience for attendees. Event opportunities are on marionillinois.com.
Event Information...
