IN THIS ISSUE

PAGE 1:

ANNUAL D INNER OVERVIEW

PAGE 2:

OUR 2018 BOARD &

AMBASSADORS

2018 SPONSORS TO DATE

PAGE 3: AWARD NOMINEES

PAGE 4: BUSINESS OF THE

YEAR

PAGE 5: VOLUNTEERS OF

YEAR

PAGE 6: COMMUNITY

BETTERMENT

PAGE 7; THE FICKLE

GODDESS

OF FORTUNE

PAGE 8: SMALL TOWN TRENDS

WEBINAR SERIES

PAGE 9: CHAMBER GOLF

PAGE 10– 13

CHAMBER’S

2017 ANNUAL REPORT

PAGE 14 ACE HARDWARE

PAGE 15 NATIONAL SMALL

BUSINSS WEEK

PAGE 16 YOUT INVESTMENT

AT WORK

Chamber Connection

31ST ANNUAL DINNER MEETING IS A WRAP!

The 31st Annual Pike County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Dinner was held

Thursday, March 22nd at the Crossroads Center in Pittsfield. The meeting was attended by close to

100 Chamber members, guests, city and village officials, and members of the media. Networking and

social time began at 6:00 PM, with dinner and the program immediately following. A delicious ca-

tered meal was provided by the Crossroads Center. Ariana White took the great photos you will see in

this newsletter and online.

Chamber Board president Beth White conducted the business meeting. Minutes from the previous

year were approved and the financials placed on file. Susan Chenoweth was nominated and approved

as a new member of the Chamber Board, representing Illini Community Hospital.

Our 2017 Annual Report was distributed, which recaps highlights from our year. It is posted on our

website, and inserted here in pages 10-13. Chamber highlights were shared via a new tactic-video.

The Chamber’s 2018 sponsors were recognized at the meeting and a PowerPoint presentation

containing a thank-you message and their logos ran as a continuous loop throughout the social hour

and dinner. We recognize our 2018 sponsors on page two. Their logos are throughout this newsletter.

The highlight of the evening is always the awards ceremony. Each year the Chamber presents

a Business of the Year, Volunteers of the Year, and Community Betterment Awards. The recipients

of all of the awards were selected from nominations made by chamber members and the community at

large. There were a number of nominations for each award (page 3). The Fickle Goddess of Fortune

made her ninth appearance as well— you can read more on page seven.

We believe strongly that each person or business nominated was worthy and we hope they feel

honored to be recognized by their peers. Our awards ceremony presentation shared the key points

from their nomination submissions. It was clear that volunteerism and business is alive and well in

Pike County. Please read about all of the Volunteer and Community Betterment recipients on pages

five and six. The Business of the Year winner can be found on page four. Other events are featured.

I would be happy to share other details if requested. Enjoy reading and share!

DON’T DELETE THIS NEWSLETTER! PLEASE FORWARD IT TO

YOUR EMPLOYEES, CO-WORKERS & FRIENDS!

Volume 10, Issue 1

Spring, 2018

Kaye Iftner, Executive Director and Editor

P 2

Beth White, President Farmers National Bank of Griggsville Charlie Hull, Vice Pres, Individual 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 Coy Bainter, First National Bank of Barry 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

Our Awards:

The Business of the Year recognizes a successful Pike County business that has demonstrated integrity

and community involvement.

The Volunteer of the Year can be any Pike County resident who volunteers his or her time to support Pike

County and his or her community.

The ninth annual Community Betterment Award is intended to recognize the contribution of an

individual or group of individuals whose vision and actions have bettered the city or village in which they live.

The Fickle Goddess of Fortune (see the background on page 7) is a traveling award bestowed upon a business

we feel fortunate to have in the county. She made her 9th appearance this year.

Our Nominees:

Business of the Year

Free Press Coffee & Jane Ann Petty

Harpole’s Heartland Lodge and Resort

Whitetail Properties Real Estate LLC

Volunteer of the Year

Sheila Davidsmeyer

Lloyd Lawber

Stefanie Rennecker and Ryan Lowe

Community Betterment

Joe Petty Construction, Chris Petty, Jonas Petty

Eastside Gardens and Bloomers

Two Rivers Jeep Club

P 3

We are pleased to announce our 2017 Award recipients (announced at the 2018 meeting) and share in

the celebration of their recognition in the following pages:

Business of the Year: Harpole’s Heartland Lodge and Resort, Nebo, IL

Volunteers of the Year: Stefanie Rennecker and Ryan Lowe

Community Betterment: Two Rivers Jeep Club

Fickle Goddess of Fortune: Teddy’s Bar & Grill in Griggsville

P 4

Twenty-three years ago, Gary Harpole with his mother Wanda by his side,

started Heartland Lodge with the vision of promoting our area’s scenic

beauty to attract visitors, similar to how Colorado promotes its mountains

and Florida promotes its beaches. Then 25 year old Gary moved next to the

family farm in a tiny teardrop trailer and began to construct the first of what

has now grown to three lodges and a large guest cabin.

Each lodge décor features a unique theme, all oriented to the outdoors.

Standard in each lodge is a gathering room and lower level recreation rooms.

Most of the 31 guest rooms feature panoramic views of rolling hillsides.

Heartland Lodge Resort has become a popular place for corporate retreats,

weddings, family weekends, reunions, special events, themed weekends,

and of course hunting.

Although our area enjoys a reputation throughout the US for whitetail deer hunting, outdoor enthusiasts come to Heartland Lodge for

quail and upland bird hunting as well. Many guests also come for unique sporting opportunities beyond hunting. In 2015, Heartland

Lodge opened an expanded ATV park, with over 60 miles of ATV trails through 1,200 acres. An estimated 4,000 visitors used the

park in 2017.

In October of 2017, Harpole’s Heartland Lodge & Resort announced the construction of four new luxury cabins. The focus of these

self-contained cabins is to bring more tourists into the region on a year-round basis and to have them spend money in our

communities. Guests staying at these cabins will be encouraged to visit local attractions, events, stores, and restaurants. Along with

weekend getaways, longer vacation stays will be promoted. The cabins will serve as a ―home base‖ for vacationing guests. Along

with our local county attractions, activities within an 80-mile radius of the resort will be promoted. Some will invest in our commu-

nities by purchasing land, building their own cabins/homes, and starting new businesses along with other development.

In 2017, the entire Heartland Lodge & Resort attracted over 20,000 visitors from all over the world to Pike and Calhoun Counties,

injecting millions of dollars into our economy, impacting local restaurants, grocery stores, and retail establishments.

The entire team at Heartland Lodge is dedicated to making our community a better place to live and visit. It is a vital part of their

core values and what motivates them to work hard every day. The Lodge is noted for their outstanding customer service. The

tremendous vision, business success, and focus on the community are why Heartland Lodge and Resort is our 2017 Business of the

Year recipient. Congratulations to Gary, Wanda, and the entire Heartland Lodge crew!

P 5

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.

The 45th Great River Honor Flight took place in

October of 2017. It was a unique group that included

veterans from Korea and Vietnam, with all but two of

them being from Pike County Illinois. The group

consisted of 66 local veterans – 7 who served during the

Korean conflict and the remaining 59 served in Viet-

nam. They headed to Washington DC along with 46

guardians, many of who were relatives of the

veterans.

This special group came to be due to a request by a cou-

ple of individuals from Pike County. They wanted to

see if there could be an Honor Flight with just veterans

from their county and began raising money for it more

than a year in advance of the trip. The driving force for

this effort was a brother sister duo–

Stefanie Lowe Rennecker and Ryan Lowe.

Stefanie works in the Western School District, and Ryan in the Pleasant Hill School District. Both districts supported the effort .

They reached out to other school districts but were determined to make the trip happen no matter what. They held community and

school fundraisers, gathered donations, and got the communities behind them to honor area veterans with this trip. Thanks to

Stefanie and Ryan, and a lot of other volunteers, 112 Veterans and their Guardians ( twice the normal size of previous Great River

Honor Flights) made memories that would last a lifetime. Congratulations!

P 6

The Two Rivers Jeep Club was nominated because of their commitment to Pike County. Although they have no physical office or location here,

they have proudly called Pike County home since 1991. The Jeep Club has helped the VFW with projects to improve the former VFW building.

The trails on which they do their member-only rides and their open events are maintained by members of the club who come

periodically to see that things are in order and safe. They are focused on being good stewards of the land. The Jeep Club has been very

generous to local organizations and a year-round contributor to our local tourism economy.

TRJC is the world’s largest all-Jeep wheeling club with dedicated trails on 100% private lands. Current membership is well over 200 with

members from over ten states. TRJC runs on several thousand acres of 100% private land, here in Pike County. They offer up to fourteen trails

rated from 1 through 5 with various types of terrain. Jeeps are inspected and trail guides accompany each group.

Besides club runs and work days, TRJC offers two ―open‖ events each year. This means non members can participate and boy, do they!

Combined, these events draw over 300 vehicles and 600 people. People have attended from over 20 states and our events have been covered in

many of the major Four Wheel Drive magazines. Since these two events are hosted directly by Two Rivers Jeep Club, 100% of all raffle

proceeds and a large percentage of the registration fees go back into the Pike County community and surrounding area that so enthusiastically

supports the club. Last year donations totaled $10,000. Through the generosity of many sponsors and the support of people attending the events

they have been able to purchase public safety items such as the Jaws of Life for local Fire Departments. They have supported the Pittsfield

VFW, the Pittsfield Legion, local food pantries, Access Food, the Pittsfield Community Center, the Pike County Historical Society, the All

Wars Museum, Pike County Unmet Needs, a number of school projects, and the Nebo Community Center. They also provide Christmas baskets

to the needy and contribute to many other charities in the local area. We are proud to award them our Community Betterment honors. Thanks,

TRJC, for making Pike County home!

Accepting for the TRJC were

Gary Williams, VP (center)

Lee Ater, President

P 7

The Fickle Goddess of Fortune visits Pike County again!

But wait, there’s more!

Nine years ago, while going through some old Chamber files, we discovered the original Articles of Incorporation

from the early 1950s for what was then the Pittsfield Chamber of Commerce (we became the Pike County

Chamber in 1987). The articles stated " the purpose of the organization was to promote the general trade and

commerce and perpetuate the visitation of the fickle goddess of fortune". Since then, we have bestowed the

Goddess (a traveling doll) to a business we feel fortunate to have attracted- and therefore the fickle goddess has

smiled on us!

Our 2017 Recipient of The Fickle Goddess of Fortune is Teddy’s Bar and Grill in Griggsville

Having a vibrant town center with entertainment options is important to a community. Rick and Penny Tedrow

knew that when they renovated the former Tom’s Foods in uptown Griggsville. Teddy’s Bar and Grill is locally

owned and opened in 2017 to a great response from the community. Teddy’s offers lunch and dinner, filling a gap

in the area. Teddy’s also has pool tournaments, and events featuring live entertainment.

The Tedrows took a leap of faith (and the risk associated with it) to make Griggsville home and the uptown are a

better place to visit and play. We feel fortunate to have them, thus the Fickle Goddess of Fortune has smiled on us

once again!

P 8

Small

Town

Survival

Webinar

Series

P 9

P 10

P 11

P 12

P 13

P 14

We are so looking forward to the

Grand Opening of the new Ace

Hardware store in Pittsfield.

We were there with them when they broke ground and will be there when

they open the doors on April 18th!

The new 12,000 square foot store will add at least 20 new jobs to our com-

munity. The new store manager is Ed Hoover (pictured on the far right in

the picture below). In addition there are 3 assistant managers, and a num-

ber of cashiers and sales associates. A great addition to our economy!

Pictured in the photo on the right are Mike Metzger, Ace

Hardware Corporation (left), Lucy Stafford, Executive

Vice President of Bishop Hardware (Central Illinois Ace

Hardware), myself, Carl Strubbe, Carlinville Store

Manager, and Ed Hoover the new Pittsfield Store Manager.

I had the program at the Pittsfield Rotary Club meeting on

February 14 and the team members were our speakers.

P 15

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

standing 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 8. 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!

P 16