WEEKLY UPDATE FROM THE GREATER CLINTON-AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE/BY DAVID LEE-DIRECTOR: 9/16/22

This week, I added some new “Featured in Photos’ on the Chamber’s Facebook page.  Be sure to go to that page and check out pictures from Mallard’s Roadhouse…Loyd’s Tire…Hawthorn Bank…Meadow Lake Golf Club and a video from the Clinton Technical School Practical Nursing Program.  You can also see other photos and videos from the past that were posted to the Chamber’s Facebook Page.   

The Ambassadors Committee of the Chamber of Commerce held a new-ownership ribbon cutting Thursday at The Nutrition Trail on the northwest corner of the square. Thanks Nancy! Here’s some info from their Facebook page: 131 W. Franklin, Clinton ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜʏ sʜᴀᴋᴇs   ᴇɴᴇʀɢɪᴢɪɴɢ ᴛᴇᴀs   ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴠɪʙᴇs  +1 660-492-9581  thenutritiontrail@gmail.com

Here’s something I think you should be excited about:  THE CLINTON REGIONAL AIRPORT 2022 FLY-IN IS COMING UP OCTOBER 8TH FROM 10AM TILL 4PM.  MULTIPLE AIRCRAFTS ARE COMING AND IT’S ALL FREE TO THE PUBLIC.  THIS WILL BE A GATHERING OF WORLD WAR II AIRCRAFT.  YOU’LL LEARN THE HISTORY OF THE PLANES, THERE WILL BE AIRCRAFT RIDES, FOOD AND SOMETHING FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY.  FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP SPONSOR THIS FLY-IN, CALL EVENT DIRECTOR DWIGHT STAPES AT 660-492-9521.  

Our tourism committee met on Tuesday of this week.  One thing we have been working on and it looks like it’s now going to happen; a disc golf tournament in Clinton.  We are partnering with an individual that has been organizing tournaments for many years and he is going to work with our group.  We are hoping Clinton’s tournament will be in May next year so stay tuned for all the details.  It looks like a lot of people will be coming to Clinton for the day, and in the middle of the tournament, they will have time to eat, shop and look around if they want to.

From Clinton Main Street:  Want to donate to the upcoming Piccadilly fundraiser, but you’re not sure what? Pick up a Clinton Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificate or Clinton Main Street Downtown Dollars. Your donation is sure to be a hit at the event!

The Greater Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce would like to salute Clinton Main Street for their ‘Salute to Our Veterans’ with the hanging of these banners this summer and fall. So many people have talked about how great this program has been.

Be sure to check out the new directory that the Chamber had put together by E&M Publications.  You can find it right now on our Facebook page and on our website, www.clintonmo.com.   

Please join us as we host Taylor Mazdra with the Missouri Department of Economic Development, on a zoom call on the Small Business ARPA program on Wednesday, September 21st at 2pm. This will be great grant opportunity for small businesses and those of you who have been negatively impacted by COVID-19.  You can find more information about this presentation on our Facebook page right now.  This is another great business service brought to you by Greater Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dorman Home Benefit Event:  Don’t forget to mark September 17 on your calendar! The Henry County Museum will be hosting a “burgers and brats” event from noon – 2 p.m. (at the museum). Proceeds from the event will be used to repair the historic Dorman Home. Tickets are $10 in advance or $12 at the door.  The Museum Annex lobby will be devoted to Civil War History the month of September and the 17th is also the date for the Living History Civil War Camp.  So, please stop by and support the efforts of the Henry County Historical Society and help us preserve this historic landmark.

WE NEED YOUR HELP! Bright Futures Clinton is looking for local businesses, organizations, churches, etc., who would like to make a difference in students’ lives!  Through the Classroom Partnership Program, we pair interested businesses/groups with a classroom at our Clinton Early Childhood Center, Henry Elementary School, and Clinton Intermediate School. These partnerships are a great way to support students and teachers throughout the year.  There is no financial commitment to being a Classroom Partner, we only ask that you volunteer an hour (or more if you’d like!) of your time each month to your classroom. You and the teacher can decide how this will look and how you can best support the classroom and students.  If you are interested in being a partner, or want to learn more, please contact Gentry Wishard at 885-5585 or gwishard@clintoncardinals.org.

Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Compass Health Network and Henry County Health Department Request Your Input on Community Health Needs Clinton, Mo. – Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, in partnership with Compass Health Network and Henry County Health Department, are working on the 2022 Henry and Benton County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). This assessment is a follow-up to meet final IRS regulations released in January 2015, requiring all 501(c) (3) hospitals to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment and adopt an implementation strategy at least once every three years. The goal of this assessment update is to understand the progress in addressing community health needs cited in the 2019 CHNA report and to collect up-to-date community health perceptions and requests. To help gather your input for the assessment update, a short online survey has been developed for you to complete. To participate in the survey, please go to: https://bit.ly/3QvSWta . You may also access the survey on the Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, Compass Health Network and Henry County Health Department websites and Facebook pages. The survey must be completed by Friday, September 22. VVV Consultants LLC, an independent research firm in Olathe, Kan., has been retained to conduct the countywide research for this assessment. All responses will be confidential. “The Community Health Needs Assessment is important to help us drive the direction for healthcare in our county and the surrounding areas,” said Craig Thompson, CEO of Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare. “I encourage you to participate in the survey. We value your input.” On Thursday, October 13, a meeting will be held at the Rotary Building from 5:30-7 p.m. to review the survey results. A light dinner will be provided starting at 5:15 p.m. The public is invited to attend.

ISO talented Clinton/ Henry County artists! Clinton Senior Center is seeking interest from local artisans who might be willing to donate pieces to an ART AUCTION fundraiser to support our seniors in Clinton. Any medium any age. If this is something you might consider donating to call Kathy @ 885- 3482. Also seeking companies/ individuals who might be willing to partner with us for this event! Thanks!!

The Clinton Senior Center is recruiting volunteers who care about aging adults in the community to serve on its Center Services Board.  Volunteers will be asked to serve a few hours a month. If you are interested, call Wilson at 660-885-3482 or visit the center at 970 E. Sedalia.

We preach it a lot, but I’ll say it again; Shop and Buy Local First.  Many if not all of our businesses in Clinton are needing you to buy from them.

Here’s a note to our Chamber Members and anyone and everyone looking for employment;  The Chamber of Commerce continues to receive calls…people come in…and email us about jobs that might be available in and around Clinton. When we see our Chamber Members post information about job openings, we do share that to our Facebook page. However, we’re pretty sure we don’t catch all of those job opening posts. Please remember that YOUR Chamber is here for YOU. If you (a Clinton Chamber of Commerce Member) have any job openings that you are posting or if you want us to post it for you on our page, just let us know. Let us help you find employees! Send your job openings to: david@clintonmo.com or joyce@clintonmo.com.  If you are not a Chamber member, we can still post your openings on our Facebook page for $25.00.  If you have any questions at all, email us or call 660-885-8166.

You can be ‘Featured’, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.  READ MORE HERE: You want your business to be featured but you don’t want to be recorded.  We can do that with pictures and a story. The day after Labor Day last year, the Clinton Chamber began our ‘Featured with David Lee’ program.  If you are a Chamber member, you could be ‘Featured’.  We recorded more than 50 videos in the fourth quarter of 2021 and filled the Chamber’s Facebook page with those videos of our Chamber members.  The videos featured business owners, managers and others getting the message out to the public. The Facebook posts featured the interview and photos of area businesses.  Once a week for a month, the ‘Feature’ was brought back to the top of our Facebook page.  After a month, of course it will still be on our Facebook page. HOWEVER, we realize not everyone is comfortable in front of a camera being interviewed.  So, David can come to your business, take some pictures and you can tell him what you would like the Chamber to say about your business and we’ll include that info along with the photos. We will post these photos along with your information on the Chamber’s Facebook page and update it on our page once a week for a month. So contact us at 660-885-8166 or email david@clintonmo.com.  We are also still recording the videos as well if you would like to do that. It’s just another service of your Clinton Chamber of Commerce.

We have several committees here at the Clinton Chamber and volunteers are always welcomed.  Our committees include Academic Excellence, Agriculture, Ambassadors, Military Affairs, Olde Glory Days and Tourism.  If you would like to get involved in helping to move Clinton forward, just call, email, stop by or if you see me out and about…let’s visit!  

Is it time to become a member of the Greater Clinton-Area Chamber of Commerce for 2022?  Well, of course it is!  Businesses, couples, individuals, ANYONE can be a member of the Chamber.  Call us at the Depot or email and we will tell you what you get and more just for belonging to the Clinton Chamber of Commerce. 

The State of MO and the Clinton Chamber of Commerce are working to get jobs filled. If you are looking for a job or if you are looking for employees, we are here to help:

IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYER OR A JOB SEEKER we want to remind you of Missouri Job Center resources supported by your tax dollars. There are two great locations at 515 S. Kentucky Ave, Sedalia P.660-530-5627 and 621 E. Highland Ave, Nevada P.417-448-1177. We offer an amazing website https://jobs.mo.gov/ that can be conveniently utilized from your personal computer. A chat feature has recently been added to assist with questions. You may also call during business hours and receive one on one services over the phone. Job Centers are eager to assist employers and job seekers in your community.

Don’t forget, if you’re a business owner and belong to the Chamber, be sure to update those Facebook pages so we can share your information on the Chamber’s Facebook page. Be sure to like us on Facebook: Greater Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce or check out www.clintonmo.com.

We are writing a lot of checks to Chamber member businesses as they either bring in or mail to us gift certificates they have received. Joyce and I are also going to businesses to complete this process as well. People buy these to give to friends, family, co-workers, employee of the month, as a thank you and so many other reasons. Call 660-885-8166 and order your gift certificates. They will be ready when you get here.

We get about three or four inquires each week from the public about places to rent in Clinton. We do have a list of landlords we give to them or email. If you have houses or apartments to rent, make sure the Chamber knows about it so you will be on the list.