The November Alton Chamber of Commerce met at noon on November 20, 2025, at Collins Coffee on the square.
Treasurer
The treasurer gave the report that there is currently $6,874.02 in the Chamber’s bank account, but that balance will be lower due to outstanding checks.
Missouri Mainstreet
A discussion was held regarding rejoining Missouri Mainstreet. Although the Chamber previously decided against rejoining, it was decided that it is necessary to access their full library of grants, which could benefit the Chamber and the City Council.
OzSBI
The Chamber discussed sponsoring an OzSBI business workshop. This workshop aims to assist people interested in starting their own businesses. March was offered as a possible date. The location needs to be finalized with an option being the Courthouse courtroom.
Christmas Parade
The Culture Club is organizing all the Christmas events. If Chamber members want to help, the Culture Club will have things to do, such as helping the Mr. and Miss Merry Christmas children and helping to line up the floats.
250th Anniversary Celebration
The Chamber discussed how to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary next year. The consensus was that the Chamber should promote and support efforts by individuals and businesses rather than managing the entire celebration.
Some ideas to celebrate the 250th Anniversary included:
- Incorporating historical posts on social media and possibly the radio.
- Creating a temporary museum of historical items, possibly hosted in the Courthouse halls.
- Organizing a local Folklore Night for people to share oral family histories, potentially starting around April and held multiple times throughout 2026.
- Organizing a town tour or town sketching tour of historical buildings.
A committee was formed to organize these ideas. The committee plans to contact the City Council for partnership ideas and reach out to local historical resources and experts.
Community Garden
The Chamber discussed creating and sponsoring a community garden, potentially located in the backyard of the Methodist parsonage, where individuals could rent plots. Planning requires determining the need for a community garden, establishing a management structure, scheduling work days for common areas, and ensuring individual plot maintenance.
Next Meeting
The Chamber decided to skip the December meeting due to the busy holiday season. The next meeting will be on January 15, 2026.
