IN THIS ISSUE

PAGE 1:

NEW CHAMBER BOARD

OFFICERS

PAGE 2:

OUR 2018 BOARD &

AMBASSADORS

2018 SPONSORS TO DATE

PAGE 3: SPACE FOR RENT AT FB

PAGE 4: WELCOME MEGAN AND

RACHEL

PAGE 5: NEW MEMBERS

PAGE 6: PLAT BOOKS AT FB

PAGE 7; BOW LAKE BUSINESS

AFTER HOURS

JOB: THIS SIGH ADS

PAGE 8: CLEAN UP DAY MAY 5

PAGE 9: CHAMBER GOLF

PAGE 10: JOBS AT YOGI BEAR’S

JELLYSTONE PARK

PAGE 11– 13 JOB FAIR AND

EMPLOYER WORKSHOP

PAGE 14: SMALL TOWN TRENDS

WEBINAR SERIES

PAGE 15 NATIONAL SMALL

BUSINSS WEEK

PAGE 16 YOUT INVESTMENT

AT WORK

Chamber Connection

Springing into Action!

There are times when there is more to share than will fit in an email blast. In

addition, the response to our Special Post-Meeting newsletter was so great that I

am bringing you another. There’s so much happening! New people in new jobs,

the Chamber Golf Tournament, Business After Hours at Bow Lake, a Job Fair and

Employer Workshop, Small Town Trends workshops, to name just a few. You can

find even more on the Chamber’s content rich website, www.pikeil.org. I work

very hard to keep it updated and relevant. The Community Calendar is a wonderful

resource– please use it!

New Chamber Board Officers

Per our by-laws, at the Chamber Board meeting on April 11, the Board elected new

officers. Charlie Hull was elected Board president and will serve a three year term.

Charlie has served as vice

president for the past 3 years.

Coy Bainter, First National Bank

of Barry, was elected vice

president and will serve a three

year term, moving into the role as

president following Charlie. Beth

White, immediate past president,

will serve on the Executive

Committee, along with Charlie,

Coy, and Peter Wright, treasurer.

Thanks to all for serving!

DON’T DELETE THIS NEWSLETTER! PLEASE FORWARD IT TO

YOUR EMPLOYEES, CO-WORKERS & FRIENDS!

Volume 10, Issue 2

April 23, 2018

Kaye Iftner, Executive Director and Editor

Charlie Hull Coy Bainter

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Charlie Hull, President, Individual Beth White, Immediate Past President Farmers National Bank of Griggsville Coy Bainter, Vice President First National Bank of Barry Peter Wright, Treasurer, Wright Place Auto Body David Fuhler, WBBA Carolyn Casteel, Casteel’s Bob Evans, Pike County Historical Society Brenda Middendorf, Two Rivers RC&D/Access Ill/PCEDC Jennifer Niebur, Niebur Funeral Homes Andy Sprague, Sprague’s Kinderhook Lodge Robert Wood, City of Pittsfield Jan Gates, the Golden Ruler, Gates, Inc, Barry Business Assn. Jeremy Wombles, Hopewell Winery Diane Vose, JWCC Susan Chenoweth, Illini Community Hospital (new 3/18) Kaye Iftner, Executive Director

2018 Chamber Board

2017-2018 Ambassadors

Kim Ator, Farmers State Bank Sheila Davidsmeyer, Northwestern Mutual Financial Tammy Harshman, Illini Health Services Nancy Kurpaitis, Florence Village President Erin Ruebbelke, KHQA Rita Neff, CNB Bank & Trust Shelly Martin, CNB Bank & Trust Nathan Painter, Edward Jones Marci Freesen, UCB Bank Gretchen Bogatzke, UCB Bank

Leaving in March 2018:

Megan Newman, formerly Pike County Health Department, now

Pittsfield Economic Development Director

Thanks to our 2018 Sponsors

We thank our 2018 Sponsors for their support. We keep our dues as

low as possible to encourage membership from all sizes of businesses.

Sponsorships allow us to do additional projects and better serve the

community. Sponsors are recognized throughout the year. Call us if

you’d like to join this wonderful group of people and businesses by

being a 2018 sponsor!

PLATINUM LEVEL

Illini Community Hospital

Two Rivers Jeep Club

VIP

CASSCOMM

Cintas

Farmers National Bank of Griggsville

Pike County Economic Development

Pike County Farm Bureau

United Community Bank

FIRST CLASS

Farmers State Bank

First National Bank of Barry

Illini Health Services

Niebur Funeral Homes

Northwestern Mutual Financial

Pike County Housing

Royal Printing

BUSINESS CLASS

Casteel’s

Illinois Electric Cooperative

This Sign Ads

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park at Pine Lakes

Wright Place Auto Body

Thanks to our Platinum Sponsors

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Congratulations and welcome to Pittsfield resident

Megan Newman as the new Pittsfield Economic

Development Director! Megan replaces Bill McCartney,

who served for more than two decades in the role.

Megan is a graduate of Pittsfield High School graduate

and holds a master's degree in public administration from

the University of Illinois-Springfield. Most recently she

was employed at the Pike County Health Department in

the finance department. Megan was a Chamber

Ambassador for several years.

We have already started to work with Megan and

know she will be great in her new role! Megan Newman, Pittsfield Economic Development Director

Photo credit: Matt Dutton, Quincy Herald Whig

FARM BUREAU HIRES SMITH TO LEAD

AG LITERACY EFFORTS

Blake E. Roderick, Executive Director of the Pike and Scott County

Farm Bureaus, is pleased to announce that Rachel Smith has been

hired to serve as Agriculture Literacy Coordinator. She will be

responsible to oversee, promote, and carry out the Agriculture

Literacy program in Pike and Scott counties for Farm Bureau.

Rachel graduated Summa Cum Laude from Truman State

University in December 2017 with a degree in Agriculture Science.

While there, she was part of their Collegiate Farm Bureau program

among other agriculture related groups on and off campus.

She is a member of the Pike-Scott Farm Bureau Young Leaders

committee. She was also the first recipient of the Pike County Farm

Bureau Scholarship in 2014.

For more information on the Pike-Scott Agriculture Literacy

program, feel free to contact Farm Bureau at 217-285-2233.

Rachel Smith, Ag Literacy Coordinator

Photo credit: Pike County Farm Bureau

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Did you know…..

National research shows that consumers believe a company is trustworthy, involved in the community and is an industry leader when it

is part of a Chamber? A national study from the Schapiro Group found that consumers are 63% more likely to buy from a Chamber

member, and the first place people look for information about a community is the local Chamber of Commerce. Traffic on the

Chamber’s web site (www.pikeil.org) certainly supports this fact- and the Chamber Member Directory is the second most visited page

on the site! In addition, the Chamber handles dozens of calls every week from businesses, tourists and residents looking for your

business. Call us today and ask how we can help market and promote your business.

Thanks to all who joined us for the Ace Hardware ribbon

cutting April 18! Welcome, Ace, to Pike County!

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Small

Town

Survival

Webinar

Series

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Every year since 1963, the President of the United States has issued a proclamation announcing National Small Business Week, which

recognizes the critical contributions of America's entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or

work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year.

As part of National Small Business Week, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of

outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they're working to grow

small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America's global competitiveness.

Last year, to celebrate National Small Business Week we teamed up the Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and

Microsoft’s 4MFG to bring you several recorded events through our Microsoft Community Connections relationship– Productivity and

Cyber security.

This year we will be offering a number of the recorded workshops from the Small Town Survival series listed on page 14.

Check your emails and the Chamber’s Community Calendar on our website for a full schedule.

We also encourage you to participate in the SBA’s free Virtual 3 Day conference during NSBW. The conference will take

place Tuesday, May 1 – Thursday, May 3 between 11:30 AM Central Time and 5:30 PM Central each day.

The Virtual Conference offers all the best parts of an in-person conference, but without the hassle of traveling. Watch 12 educational

webinars, get free business advice from mentors, pick up free information and resources from sponsors and network with fellow

business owners. You can register for them all or choose what you want. The webinars include:

Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints & Keep Your Customers

Simple Steps to Choosing the Right Financing

Addressing Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace

Sharing Your Story Through Video

Pop & Play: How Opening a Pop-Up Shop Can Help Launch Your Retail Brand

How Changing Consumer Behavior Impacts Your Business

How to Get New and Repeat Business On Autopilot with Email Marketing

Cybersecure Your Small Business Managing Your Finances in the Cloud

Creating and Sustaining a Strong Social Presence

The U.S. Economic Outlook and Its Impact on Small Businesses

Grow Your Business Register at: http://ow.ly/btkT30jcYtN

224 W Washington

PO Box 283 Pittsfield, IL 62363

217-285-2971 info@pikeil.org

www.pikeil.org

Reminder! 2018 dues are

now due. Please take a

moment to mail yours in if

you haven’t done so already.

Not a member? Join now!

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