The July 11th Membership luncheon hosted around 89 people at the Market Street Hall in Marion. Marion Cultural and Civic Center Executive Director, Josh Benson, welcomed the group to the new entertainment venue. Board chair Michelle Hamilton welcomed the attendees and Pastor Jason Thrash of Cornerstone  provided the invocation. Luncheon sponsors, SIU Credit Union, was represented by Kim Babington - VP of Community Outreach. The 4-person program panel provided insightful information on the newsworthy topic of AI and how it will not only impact the design field, but computer based work in general.

Welcome New Members since the last luncheon:

• Restoriation61: Sarah O'Dell

Recent Projects

Last month’s Marion Sister City Cultural Exchange was a huge success, and we are excited to share images and information with you at next month’s luncheon.

In a couple weeks, the SI Made Expo will be at the Pavilion in Marion. Amy Oxford  of the Springfield Planning team discussed the 'Christmas in July' theme and this year's charity - VETS and Specialised Equine Services.

This year’s Chamber Golf Scramble will be at Kokopelli on Friday, September 22^nd. Early registration is going on now with games and prizes taking place across the course. Sponsorship opportunities are available, and you can also join in the fun with the ball drop hosted by Black Diamond Aviation. See Mary Jo and Whitney to buy your ball today! Prizes include a cash prize, a delightful item from Your Jeweler, and a golf package from Kokopelli!

A week after the golf scramble, we will be hosting our second ‘Bite of Reality’ event at the Marion High school on September 29^th. Volunteer opportunities will be available, and we encourage you to take part and interact with the leaders and employees of tomorrow!

On your tables you will see nomination forms for the 2023 ‘of the Year Awards’. It is also available online. The deadline is the end of August. Member will be voting on this year’s Citizen of the Year and Young Professional Leadership Honorees in October. 

Upcoming Projects

Join the staff of Horner & Shifrin at a Ribbon Cutting as they celebrate their new name and location in Marion on July 13^th at 2 pm at 410 N Court St.

America’s Car Mart will be celebrating their new name and ownership with a Grand Opening Celebration - kicked off with a Ribbon Cutting on July 14^th at 10:30 am at 1100 West DeYoung St.

Coming in July on National Tequila Day! Celebrate the new location of La Fiesta in Marion with a Ribbon Cutting on July 24^th at 10 am!

Don’t forget to register for the 2023 Regional Legislative Summit next month on Thursday, August 24^th at the Pavilion in Marion. The Marion Chamber is handling registrations for this year’s event, and you can go ahead and register on marionillinois.com.

We are excited to announce that the 2024 FBLA Career Day is set for February 16^th at MHS. We are bringing back the Bite of Reality event this fall, and the date is set for September 29^th, 2023.

As we are looking towards the new school year, please register to mentor a Marion High School Student. Please contact the office or register your business on marionillinois.com under the Marion/Mentorship page. 

JALC Scholarship - The John A Logan College 1 year tuition waiver scholarship covers tuition and fees for a student attending John A Logan College up to the amount of $2,500.

Over the past three decades, marketing has had to keep up and contend with leaps in technology and our relation to it ever since. While the Sales Era witnessed the invention of the telephone, swiftly followed by the rise of television and the Marketing Department Era. The industry evolution of the Marketing Company Era saw arguably the biggest change in the history of marketing: the first commercially available personal computers. With e-commerce taking shape in the 1990s and social media becoming commonplace in the early 2000s, marketing has shifted greatly to appeal to more diverse audiences. Today we are excited to explore this topic with a panel of local experts that have first-hand knowledge of the latest marketing tools. We look forward to discussing what this means for your business and how you can prepare to compete with new technologies! 

Program Facilitator: Matthew D. Carnaghi – the Vice President at James Arthur Design Co.

Panelists

• James Moseman - Owner / President at James Arthur Design Co
• Nic Skovgaard - Owner/Absolute Marketing Maniac at AlterEgo Marketing
• nic@alteryourmarketing.com
• Quick Guide for ChatGPT - AlterEgo Marketing (alteryourmarketing.com)
• Chat GPT Cheat Sheet - PDF
• Alter Ego GPT Quick Guide - PDF
• Ken Stoner - Economic Development Director at the Greater Egypt Regional Planning and Development Commission

Notes from the Program

• It is important to become familiar with Chat GPT, in a decade it will become commonplace in computer based industries. It will affect white collar jobs more than blue collar jobs, which was the initial concern at the onset of technical uses of AI.
• Copywrite and content ownership within AI is in a gray area. It is important to do your due diligence to make sure your images and content are not the intellectual property of others.
• AI is a great tool for brainstorming and speeding up the creative process. It can be used to work more effectively, not replacing jobs, but allowing employees to do more with their time.
• Remember that AI not only creates content, but it captures the creative process.
• The human element is still very important when using AI tools. AI does not fact-check information, it is up to the user to make sure facts and statements are accurate.