Committees

This program is a partnership with Gateway Regional Medical Center. The goal of this committee is to educate the community to a healthier way of life – to hopefully change life styles of the residents in the area. There will be timely planned programs for Men, Women, Children, and Seniors.

A healthy employee creates a healthy workplace and a healthy bottom line.

The Southwestern Madison County Chamber of Commerce Infrastructure Committee obtains information on needed, proposed, and active water, sewer, roadway, and private development projects to report to the Chamber of Commerce. The sources of information are from public publications, meetings, and discussions with area representatives. The committee reports to the chamber on project funding opportunities used by the chamber representative communities to finance and receive both federal and state grants. The committee provides updates on projects being designed, and projects scheduled to be constructed, in addition to the status of ongoing construction projects.

The It Starts Here Foundation has joined the St Elizabeth Healthcare Foundation. The two entities are dedicated to providing a resource for the people, businesses, and the communities of Southwestern Madison County. The primary goal is to foster the growth of a sustainable economy that will strengthen the community and to identify and address the unmet health care needs of the people in Granite City, Madison, Venice, Pontoon Beach and Mitchell, Illinois. The commuittee will, among other things, sponsor medical science scholarships, educate the populations through programs and activities, all in order to (1) promote pride in the SW Madison County Area, the health and welfare of its residents, and the restoration of its private and public facilities and (2) to improve the quality of life and unlock the potential of the people of Southwestern Madison County to build and sustain healthy communities.

This Chamber’s Leadership Program was the first leadership program in Madison County. We had no template to follow, but what we did have was a great group of dedicated business leaders who care enough about this area to give of themselves, spending months in the planning stages and then nine month in implementing the program. The topics touched on the past, present and future of this area as it related to the monthly subject matter. Each of the sessions were chaired, planned and carried out by our community leaders, and each of these people were staunch, passionate and enthusiastic about what the participants would gain from their session. The session provided time for questions-and-answers, engaging class members in a group dialogue that probed all aspects of the issues.

We presented the community with a “white glove” program for young professionals, enhancing the participants’ leadership skills and giving them an in-depth exposure to critical issues affecting our area. Each month covered a different topic and providedfirst hand unfiltered perspectives from local, regional, and state experts about their experiences in the political, social, cultural and economic facets of the area.

The other Leadership Program was the “Blue Collar” program, designed for the young hourly employee who had managerial potential but needed some direction and grooming. Both courses stimulated the participant’s awareness of the Southwestern Madison County area, its problems, challenges, and opportunities by examining the major systems and the interrelationships which contribute to patterns of life in the area.

This committee focuses on maintaining a strong partnership with our key employer base, focusing on their long term viability in their respective organizations and our community.

The ART of Business, is all about Leadership. Leadership is about caring, direction, getting involved and making a commitment. This biennial event serves as a community recognition program and a thank you tool, allowing our leadership, their talents and the successes of our community to be showcased.

At this gala evening, the “Balance” award is presented. This beautiful award is sculpted in stainless steel and presented to two business leaders who symbolizing today’s leaders, balancing all of the opportunities and the obligations of life. A true leader realizes to achieve success it requires balancing the personal, the professional, and the spiritual aspects of life.

This committee promotes an environment of assistance and support that will remove entry barriers for the aspiring business owner and enable the local businesses to compete more successfully in the marketplace. As part of our effort to achieve this goal, there will be a series of short informational type
seminars, and events that address timely issues that have an effect on the business community. These programs are presented at many different times of the day, for the convenience of our business owners.

We hold meetings at breakfast, lunch, and happy hour events each designed to provide vital information from regional experts on planning, on directions and different funding mechanisms that will assist the established business as well as the entrepreneur, with a side bar of educating as well as giving our members an opportunity to market themselves. Plus, we have fun!

The committee is working directly with the Madison County Workforce Board, our three local School Districts, and the business community. The goal is to prepare our students in the way that best suits their abilities and better prepares them as to what is to be expected of them in the business world. There are dozens of business and educational leaders from Madison County that are involved in this program.

This is an annual event recognizing the business & industry community as our area’s largest asset. It is the Chamber’s opportunity to gather business and industry leaders and to say we appreciate your presence and your involvement in our community. New businesses and new business leaders are introduced to the community at this event. It is at this venue that we announce who will be honored with the Established Community Leadership Award at the up-coming ART of Business gala.

The goal is to establish a relationship between High School students and the local business leaders. For the purpose of educating this generation of the many opportunities and the multitude of positives that are in the community. Then to give them a vehicle to present their perspectives of the community, including the opinions they will develop over the course of the school year.

This golf outing is a 60 year old tradition that has been renamed in honor of Dan Brown the chairman of the event for the past nine years.  This annual event has three goals: # One, to provide a day full of fun, # Two, an opportunity to network with other business and community leaders, # Three, to raise money for many of the programs and activities the chamber presents throughout the year.

The Annual Chamber of Commerce Playday has been one of the finest golf tournaments in the area for over 50 years and gets better every year.

The main focus of this committee is to highlight and recognize the good things in our community. With the ultimate goal to identify, recognize, and honor what is right in the area and to work towards changing the community’s attitude to WOW. Another goal is to thank our small to medium size businesses that have played an important role in the make-up of our business community over the year.

This committee also selects the “Extraordinary ACTS of Kindness” awards each year.