Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter 111517

Have you...

  • Looked into saving money on your electricity and natural gas bills with the Marion Chamber's Electricity and Natural Gas Aggregation. Click here to learn more. 
  • Found us on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+?
  • Seen or shared our Marion Profile Book? Click here!
  • Filled our our Member Survey?
  • Completed your Traffic Catcher System? Click here to see who has and to learn more. 
  • Familiarized yourself with our Member Benefits? Click here to read about them!
  • Seen your Member-to-Member Discounts? Click here to save!
  • Promoted yourself to Marion Chamber members? Click here to learn more.
  • Displayed your "Member of the Marion Chamber of Commerce" window decal at your business? If you need a new decal, click here or email assistant@marionillinois.com.

Let us put the Spotlight on your Business!

The Marion Chamber of Commerce is happy promote members on the homepage of the Chamber's Web site in the Member Spotlight section for $150.

Note that one Member Spotlight is featured a month. Slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A company may only request a Member Spotlight once a year.

Member Spotlight Schedule:
To grab your spot in the spotlight, email director@marionillinois.com or call 618.997-6311 and let us know what month you'd like.

Send a Member eBlast!



The Marion Chamber of Commerce is happy to send promotional eBlasts once a week on behalf of members as a member benefit for $50. Slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A company may only request a Member eBlast once a month. Click here for the form. 

Space available for your business on the Chamber's digital sign AT REDUCED PRICE!

Dear Marion Chamber of Commerce members,

The Marion Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee members have drastically reduced the cost to advertise on the Chamber's digital sign.

The Marion Chamber of Commerce makes the electronic sign available for rent to a wide variety of Chamber members, local businesses, organizations, community groups and residents. 

Ads can be up to 2 lines of text with the typical line containing about 18 characters (including spaces). Ads run twice for 15 seconds each on a 5-minute loop. We allow for a maximum of 10 ads, which means each ad is live on the board 576 times every day and approximately 17,520 times per month. The sign runs 24/7 so your message gets greatest exposure. All ads must be paid in full before the advertisement goes live.

For more information or to take advantage of this great opportunity, click 
here.

Thank you,
Dalus Ben Avi
Executive Director

Would you like to host a BAH?



Have you thought about hosting a Business After Hours event? Schedule yours today!

Business After Hours events are usually held on the fourth Thursday of the month, unless the Chamber member has a special need for a different date or calendar conflicts at the Chamber arise.

The hours for a Business After Hours event are to be determined by the Chamber member. However, 4:30-6:30 p.m. is recommended.

The Business After Hours Program fee is $100. 

Email director@marionillinois.com, call 997-6311 or fill out 
this form to schedule your BAH event today! 

Chamber responsibilities include:
  • Promoting the event through all of our communications (newsletter, Web site, social media, Monthly Membership Luncheon announcements, etc.)
  • Provide member mailing labels for invitations

Chamber member suggestions:
  • Send special invitations to Chamber Members and their customers (must include Chamber logo on printed materials)
  • Provide food and beverages at the event 
  • Provide door prizes at the event
  • Make a presentation about your business/organization

Business After Hours Program Schedule:
  • November - Rehab Unlimited
  • December 2017 - AVAILABLE
  • January - December 2018 - AVAILABLE

Would you like to sponsor a Monthly Membership Luncheon?

The Marion Chamber of Commerce is happy to to offer to members the sponsorship opportunity at the Monthly Membership Luncheons, held on the second Tuesday of each month (except for January) for $150.

Each Monthly Luncheon will have only one sponsor, and that sponsor is entitled to:
  • a logo in the luncheon invitation
  • opportunity to speak for up to three minutes at the luncheon
  • a table set up by the registration table at the luncheon.
The opportunity is limited to one Monthly Luncheon Sponsorship per business per year. 
The Monthly Membership Luncheon Sponsorship Schedule is:

2017:
2018: To become a Monthly Membership Luncheon sponsor, email director@marionillinois.com with what month you'd like to sponsor or call the Chamber at (618) 997-6311.

Chamber launches Chamber Gift Certificate program

The Marion Chamber of Commerce is launching a Chamber Gift Certificate program. Members of the Marion Chamber of Commerce are encouraged to sign up to be a part of the program. 

How to sign up:


Facts about the Chamber Gift Certificates:

  • Each certificate is personalized at the buyer’s request
  • Certificates can be purchased in any denomination
  • It’s the perfect gift! The recipient has a choice of more than 100 places in the Marion area to use their certificate: retail, shopping, car repair, entertainment, dining, etc.
Participation is smart marketing:
  • Promotion: The Chamber promotes the program on the Chamber Web site, social media, in the Chamber newsletters and more. Your business name is promoted on every certificate. A special icon is used in the Chamber Directory for all participants, and you are provided a special “Marion Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificates Accepted Here” decal to display at your business.
  • Simple and cost-effective: No paperwork, just mail the redeemed certificate to the Chamber. We reimburse you 95% of the face value, in a timely manner. The Chamber keeps 5% to cover supplies, administrative costs and promotions.
  • One year expiration date.
How it works:
  • Marion Chamber Gift Certificate is purchased from the Chamber office.
  • Recipient redeems gift certificate using entire amount (no change need be given) to purchase goods or services, choosing from one of the many participating businesses listed on the face of the gift certificate.
  • Participating business signs the gift certificate acknowledging redemption.
  • Participating business turns in the gift certificate to the Chamber office (via mail or in person) and, within two weeks of receiving the redeemed certificate, the Chamber will issue a reimbursement check for 95% of the face value of each redeemed Gift Certificate.

Social Media Webinar #4: Black Friday Marketing: Content Ideas for You and Your Business, 11-16-17

The Marion Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee has teamed up with Harness Digital Marketing to provide Social Media Webinars once a quarter for members. The fourth Social Media Webinar will take place on Thursday, November 16 from noon to 12:20 p.m. on the Marion Chamber of Commerce's Facebook Live Stream. The main speaker will be Tom Harness with Harness Digital Marketing, who will speak about Black Friday marketing and content ideas for you and your business.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Artstarts, 11-17-17

A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held on Friday, November 17 at 5 p.m. for Artstarts' new set building, 104 South Van Buren, Marion. The event will include an Open House until 6 p.m., appetizers, drinks and a drawing for 2 tickets for Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Click on the image below to RSVP.

Shop Southern Illinois is underway!

Ways to participate:
  • Display the decal. Email the Marion Chamber to get yours!
  • Display/distribute the Shop Southern Illinois flier

Fifteen area Chambers of Commerce along with a Main Street program and several regional businesses have teamed up this holiday season in an effort to encourage Southern Illinoisans to do a majority of their holiday shopping in the region, rather than traveling out of the area or shopping online.
 
The effort, called “Shop Southern Illinois,” features a strong social media presence where residents can learn some of the reasons it is important for Southern Illinoisans to shop locally and where they may pledge to do most of their own holiday shopping in the region by using the hashtag #IBuySI. By making a post or tweet with the #IBuySI hashtag, participants are entered in weekly drawings to win prizes.
 
A prize package, each with a minimum value of $100, will be given away weekly by the following Chambers of Commerce/Main Street program:
            •  November 17 - Saline County Chamber of Commerce
            •  November 24 - Perry County Chambers: Pinckneyville and DuQuoin
            •  December 1 - Williamson County Chambers: Carterville, Herrin and Marion
            •  December 8 - Nashville Chamber of Commerce
            •  December 15 - Franklin County Chambers: Benton/West City and West Frankfort
            •  December 22 - Jackson County Chambers: Carbondale and Murphysboro
            •  December 29 - Grand Prize

read more...

New Member Quarterly Luncheon, 11-21-17

Every quarter the Marion Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee holds a New Member Quarterly Luncheon. This quarter’s New Member Quarterly Luncheon will be held at noon at Tequila's on Tuesday, November 21. 

RSVPs are required to ensure enough space is reserved for our gathering. New Member Lunches are held on the 3rd Tuesday, quarterly (February, May, August, and November), and coordinated by the Marion Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee. New members’ lunches will be paid for by the Chamber. We hope to see you there!
 
Marion Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee members will be on hand to answer all of your questions about the Chamber, its events, committees, member benefits, etc. Feel free to bring your Membership Packet and any questions you may have about the Chamber to the meeting to get your questions answered. 

Click here for more information.

14 running for Marion Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

The Marion Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors election starts today and 14 candidates are on the ballot. The nine receiving the most votes will serve on the Board of Directors from February 2018 through January 2021.

The candidates are:
  • Ariana Arnone-Hillis with The Southern Illinoisan
  • Rodney Cabaness with Black Diamond Harley-Davidson
  • Beau Detrick with Illinois Army National Guard
  • Dana Dooley with HireLevel powered by Extra Help
  • Hayden Gardiner with South Porte Bank
  • Tracey Glenn with Peoples National Bank
  • Ted Gutierrez with Jackson County Mass Transit
  • Megan Jones with Priority Professional Group
  • Mary Jo McCurdy with First Southern Bank
  • Erica Pancoast with Doggie Stylez, Inc.
  • Jerry Reppert with Reppert's Office Supply
  • Riley Swinford with The Marion Star
  • Herby Voss with Heartland Regional Medical Center
  • Brian Ziegler with Clarida & Ziegler Engineering
Online ballots were emailed to all voting members of the Marion Chamber of Commerce today.

The candidates were invited to the November Monthly Membership Luncheon on Tuesday, November 14 at noon at Kokopelli to be recognized.

“The Marion Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all of the candidates who allowed their names to stand in the election,” said Dalus Ben Avi, executive director of the Marion Chamber of Commerce. “I encourage all Marion Chamber of Commerce members to exercise their right to vote.”

All voting will end at 4 p.m. on Friday, November 27.

Those elected to serve on the Marion Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will be announced at the December Monthly Membership Luncheon on Tuesday, December 12 at noon at The Pavilion.

The term of the newly elected directors officially begins the evening of the 97th annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet & Auction on Friday, January 19, 2018, at the Pavilion. Reservations for the event are currently being accepted. To RSVP for the Annual Banquet, call the Chamber office at (618) 997-6311 or email director@marionillinois.com.
 

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Factory Connection, 12-07-17

A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will be held for Factory Connection on Thursday, December 7 at 3 p.m. in celebration of their new location - 130 Enterprise Way, Suite 20B. An Open House will follow until 7 p.m. The event will include refreshments and a drawing for a $25 gift card. Bring your business cards! You do not have to be present to win the drawing. 

In Memoriam Submissions now taken



The Annual Dinner Committee would like to honor those we have lost in the past year who have contributed to the Marion Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Marion area. The tribute will be played during the 97th annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Auction & Awards Banquet. 

Please download and complete this form or fill out this online form about anyone who has contributed to the Marion Chamber of Commerce and/or the Greater Marion area who has passed away in 2017. You may also call the Marion Chamber at 997.6311 or email director@marionillinois.com to submit someone who has passed for the In Memoriam.

Submissions made prior to January 4, 2018, will be included in the In Memoriam tribute played during the 97th annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Auction & Awards Banquet on January 19 at the Pavilion.

While they are gone, they shall not be forgotten. 
Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter - Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter 111517