Alton, Mo. – The Alton Area Chamber of Commerce met at Jason’s Mexican Restaurant on Thursday, May 23, 2024. They discussed both old and new business. The big items discussed were making committees, elections, and the Walnut Festival.
Old Business
Old business included a discussion of the establishment of standing committees. Members agreed on the following committees and those committees’ functions: Membership – communicating with businesses and promoting membership; Events – organizing the calendar of events and subcommittees to work on approved events; Rules – providing guidance as to chamber bylaws and state laws and regulations, making sure the annual report is filed with the Secretary of State’s office. It was agreed that a resolution template would be edited and adopted at the June meeting. The secretary was asked to provide the template to all members so that they could have suggestions for an edited version before the meeting.
New Business
Under new business, the following agenda items were approved for the June meeting: Election of Officers, approval of a year-end financial report, approval of a resolution for standing committees, and discussion of progress on the 2024 Walnut Festival plans.
Small Business Incubator
Gene Weinbeck gave an informal presentation on the work of OZSBI. He discussed the company’s work in helping to establish new businesses and to support existing small businesses. The company has established pilot programs in Mountain View and Ava and actively seeks business people to mentor. OZSBI offers workshops and would be willing to sponsor a workshop in Alton. SMART START , a three hour workshop on starting and running a business, was given as an example of a possible session to be conducted locally. Chamber members expressed interest in co-sponsoring a local workshop.
Anyone interested in joining the chamber is encouraged to consider the planned committees. With the upcoming election of new officers, one can decide whether to be an officer. June’s meeting will have a lot of information, including plans for the 2024 Walnut Festival.
