Morton Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council
Morton Matters Newsletter

May 2016
In This Issue
Leigh Ann Brown Hired
Chamber Golf Outing
Women in Business
Early Bird Pricing Extended
Plaza Construction Underway
Forecast Breakfast Video
Festival Registrations Open
Leadership Morton Class
Business Briefs
Morton Community Foundation News
Ribbon Cutting at Johnson's Floral
Save the Date
Chamber Calendar
Business After Hours

Johnson's Floral
 313 N. Morton Ave.

May 26
4:30 - 6:00 pm
Welcome New
Chamber Members
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
Chamber Board Members
Bill Aupperle
Brian Cross
Jamie Durdel
Nick Esser
Nick Graff
Lindsay Hall
Barbara Heer
Shelly Hunt, Treas.
Mary Jane Johnson, Past Pres.
Darren Martin, Pres.
Aaron Miller
David Mills
Tim Mueller
Alissa Williams
David Zern, Vice Pres.
150% Club 
Aaron Miller, Real Estate Broker
Ackerman Farms
Alltrust Financial Management
Apostolic Christian Counseling & Family Services
Apostolic Christian Restmor
Barbara Heer, Broker
Benckendorf & Benckendorf PC
Billy Daniel Excavating 
Blain's Farm & Fleet
Brandon Wood Retirement Center
Carius Dairy Queen
Childers Door Service of Central IL
China Dragon
ClearPath IT Solutions
CMFS Group
Colby Natural Health 
Coldwell Banker Commercial
CORE Construction
Country Financial
Craig H. Barley
Crossroads Concrete
Culver's of Morton
David Mills CPA LLC
David W. Kinsinger DDS
Deputy Duct, Div. ATC Insulators
DSM-H LLC
Elevate Church
Firehouse Pizza
Grimm Bros. Trucking
Heartland Bank & Trust
Heartland Veterinary Clinic
Hometown Title Inc.
Illinois Business Financial Services
IRON-A-WAY
JA ROECKER Architecture/Structures
Jim Maloof Realtor
Jim Yordy 
Keach Architectural Design
Kennel Lake Sportsmen's Club
Kmart
Knapp Johnson Funeral Home
Kuhl Insurance
Lennie's Quality Meat Shop 
Libby's Pumpkin
Lighthouse Buick GMC
Liquor Station
Marie Fisk, Realtor
Marion Manufacturing
Markley's Pest Elimination
Massage with Pauline
McDonald's of Morton
Menold Construction & Restoration
Merlin Birky 
Midstate College
Mike Murphy Ford 
Mike Yordy Excavating & Land Improvement
Millennia Prof. Services 
Mohr & Kerr Engineering
Morton Audiology & Hearing Aid Center
Morton Buildings
Morton Collision Repair
Morton Dental Center
Morton Financial Services
Morton Knights of Columbus
Morton Rentals LLC
Morton Unit School Dist. 709
Morton Villa Healthcare & Rehab Centre
Oak Lawn Mobile Estates
Old Smokey's BBQ 
PC Doctor Computer Consulting
PAAR
Quinn Johnston Henderson Pretorius & Cerulo
Ranson & Ranson Dental
Reading, Rhyming & Romping Preschool
Relax Inn
Reliant Auto Glass
Renewal by Anderson of Central IL
Riverview Senior Living Community
RMH Foods
Robert Schnarr
Rocke's Meats Ltd
Schooner's of Morton
Sherwin Williams
Stephens Electric 
TCRC
The Iona Group 
The Prassas Co./Morton
Town Centre
The Whisler Agency 
Thomas E. Davies PC
Tri County Cleaning Systems
Unity Point Clinic Proctor First Care
Until He Return Prophetic Bible Ministries
Village of Morton
Walmart of Morton 
Web Services 
W. Central IL Bldg. & Construction Trades Council 
Witzig Financial Services 
Wm. Aupperle & Sons 
Yinlun USA
Yogi's Super Liquors
Leigh Ann Brown Hired as New Executive
The Morton Chamber of Commerce and Morton Economic Development Council have announced the hiring of Leigh Ann Brown as the new executive of both organizations.
 
" We are extremely excited to have Leigh Ann lead both our organizations," EDC President John Feser said. "Leigh Ann brings strong knowledge and connectivity of regional resources, industry sectors, workforce access and downtown development for economic growth.  She also has experience with non-profit management, event coordination and business to business programing that will bring strength to our community and continue the successes we've had supporting and growing the local economy." 
Chamber Annual Golf Outing
May 6
Shotgun Start at Noon
Pine Lakes Golf Club    
$110 per golfer
 
Join us for the Morton Chamber of Commerce Annual Outing. Cost includes lunch, green fee, cart and dinner. $35 for non golfers who want to join us for dinner at approximately 5:00 pm. Proceeds go to Project Pumpkin, an endowment fund the Morton Chamber launched in 2013 in partnership with the Morton Community Foundation. The purpose of this fund is to provide access to the Morton Pumpkin Festival for families in need in our community.

Thanks to our lead sponsor AAA Northgate Heating & Air Conditioning!
Women in Business
May 10 from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Kemp 208    
$30 Chamber Members
$40 Non-Members
Register Online 
 
Join us for a special lunch and speakers featuring women CEO's from our region.  Our speaker for this session will Sara O'Shea, Owner and Lead Planner of So Chic Boutique and Events. 

With ten years of experience in planning events of 50 to 5000 ranging from fundraisers to social and corporate events as well as over two hundred weddings, So Chic has become the go-to resource for event planning in the area. O'Shea has served as a Board Member and Chair of Festival of Trees for Crittenton Centers, Co-Chair of the American Cancer Society Gala, and President of the South-West Kiwanis Club.
MIX - Morton Information Exchange
May 24 from 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Chamber Office    
FREE
 
MIX is a FREE program designed to provide our members with a network of business peers to discuss topics of interest. It is an opportunity to learn from the experiences of others in the local business community and share their own experiences.

This session is the kickoff of the MIX: Read and Review Group. Participants will be sent an article titled "Knowing When to Reinvent" from the Harvard Business Review. Leaders who can detect hidden "fault lines" that signal impending industry change are better able to prepare and adapt to it. At this meeting, participants will decide what to read next and how often they will meet.

Lunch is provided. Limited to 8 people so register today!
Early Bird Ad Pricing Extended to May 15
We still have some room for ads in the 2016 Morton Pumpkin Festival Official Guide Booklet. Promote your business to 20,000 local and regional families! The guide will be distributed through our Morton Courier and also through our elementary schools. It is also distributed at the Pumpkin Festival events and venues. 
Plaza Construction Underway
The Memorial Plaza's groundbreaking took place on March 23, and the plaza is now under construction. Donations are still welcome! You can purchase memorial pavers for as little as $100.

Morton Forecast Breakfast

The Chamber hosted the Annual Morton Forecast Breakfast on April 26 with featured speakers Mayor Ron Rainson, Dist. 709 Superintendent Dr. Lindsey Hall, Morton Public Library Director Alissa Williams, and Morton Park District Director Joel Dickerson. Attendees were given an update of ongoing and future initiatives from these entities.

See a video of the speakers HERE.
Pumpkin Festival Registrations Now Open
The following registrations are now open for the 50th Annual Morton Pumpkin Festival from September 14-17.

Leadership Morton Class of 2016

Congratulations to the Morton Chamber of Commerce Leadership Morton 2016 graduates: Nathan Anderson, Michelle Bernier, Richard Berry, Jay Collie, Javar Cruz, Chad DeWeese, Natalie Harkless, Scott Jones, Kevin Kline, Erica Lonie, Amanda Miller, Nicholas Smith, Chris Sondgeroth, Randi Jean Sorenson, Jamie Troyer, Sandi Woods, Julie York-Petrone.
Business Briefs
Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois' Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Don E. Johnson as the non-profit's new President & CEO, replacing Patty Fuchs who will retire in May 2016 after 23 years with the organization.

From the Field Cooking School has a new name and new owners. The cooking school and catering business is now called The Cookery. Amanda Pyle and Angelia Johnson, both graduates of the ICC culinary arts program, are the new owners. Visit their Facebook page for more information.
Morton Community Foundation News
by Scott Witzig
View a listing of the Morton Community Foundation's competitive grant recipients for 2016. These were announced at Business After Hours on Thursday, April 21, at the Bertha Frank Performing Arts Center.
Ribbon Cutting at Johnson's Floral
A ribbon cutting was held to celebrate the addition of vintage furniture and antiques to Johnson's Floral and Greenhouse's retail offerings! Stop by to see all the beautiful things they have available!