November Chamber Courier 2025 by Canton Area Chamber of Commerce Canton IL

Vice President: Maggie Connell - Edward Jones

cANTON aREA cHAMBER OF cOMMERCE bOARD OF dIRECTORS

Executive Board Executive Board

President: Chad Holloway - OSF HealthCare

Board of Directors Board of Directors

Tanaya Krulac - COOK Medical

Jay Valencia - Canton High School

Jason Gumbart - Apex Seed Company

Lacey Neal - Rock Valley Physical Therapy

Diane Bell - Di’s Boutique

Alesia Shaw - Graham Health System

Jason Elwell - EATS

Jacque Nelson - MidAmerica National Bank

Cade Fawcett - Ipava State Bank

Makaylynee Correa- Student Representative

cbobell@cantonillinois.org cantonillinois.org/chamber

Executive Director Carla Bobell

HOW TO SCORE BIG FOR YOUR BUSINESS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

by Christina R. Green ~ regular blogger at Frankjkenny.com

From Thanksgiving to Christmas there’s a battle that occurs for consumer dollars. The big guy against the little guy, the brick-and-mortar versus the online retailer, everyone is looking for a bigger piece of the pie. It’s time to start thinking about your holiday marketing. If you want to improve sales, mobile is it. The average person looks at their phone 46 times a day, with people in the 18-24 age bracket checking it 74 times, according to TIME magazine. They research, watch videos, make purchases, and get directions to stores. If your site isn’t mobile ready, you’re missing customers and your organic search listing is being penalized, as Google takes mobile into account.

In addition to having a mobile-friendly website, look for ways to reach your buyers on mobile. Consider deals for people looking you up on their phone. That’s a very warm lead. Do all you can to convert it to a prospect. Also, if you get moving quickly you could get your site optimized for local keywords that would help you score better in local search. A few ideas:

Social Media posts. The holiday time is a great time to do this because you can push contests and there are tons of ideas for content. Aim to post several times a day and interact with people in between those times.

Reviews are the life blood of a lot of businesses. Ask for them, read them, and respond to each of your reviews.

If you have a product that is conducive to it, create gift sets. There’s something about things put together in a way that is appealing. Especially for those who are hard to buy for!

Contests are wildly popular on Facebook and Instagram, particularly picture-taking contests like “Share Pictures of Your Shopping Treasures.” It not only gets people excited about your business but also gets them talking about it for others to see.

Sales are impulsive so let logic go. Find ways to meet customers where they are and that usually means online. Competition is fierce but if you use social media and reviews to your benefit, you can show them a different side of you and stand out from the crowd. For more insight, reach out to the Canton Chamber office for some ideas to get you started!

WELCOME NEW MEMBER ~ CASA

CASA of West Central Illinois, a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) for children who have experienced abuse or neglect, is expanding its services to Fulton County. This growth will allow more children in the foster care system to have a dedicated advocate ensuring their voices are heard in court and their best interests are represented. CASA of West Central Illinois has been serving children since 1994. CASA is currently seeking office space in Fulton County, so our team can have a “home base” in the community.

“Every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and heard,” said Kelly Price, Executive Director of CASA of West Central Illinois. “Expanding into Fulton County means that children in this community will now have a CASA volunteer by their side someone committed to standing up for their needs and helping them find a safe, permanent home.” Kelly has been with CASA for 4 ½ years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Lincoln College, and an AAS degree in Business Administration and Management and a certificate in Accounting from Carl Sandburg College. Lora Thompson has just been brought on as Advocate Coordinator for Fulton County. Lora will be attending community events and hosting volunteer recruitment sessions around the community. Kelly and Lora are excited to get involved in the community, and share the CASA mission and the need for volunteers.

As of September 30th, 110 children were in foster care in Fulton County. With CASA services now available, judges will be able to assign trained CASA volunteers to these children’s cases. CASA volunteers are community members who undergo specialized training to serve as the eyes and ears of the court. They build trusted relationships with children, gather information from those involved in the child’s life, and provide detailed reports and recommendations to judges. Studies show that children with CASA volunteers are more likely to succeed in school, receive needed services, and find safe, permanent homes more quickly. The more volunteers CASA has, the more children we can serve. We strongly believe that EVERY child deserves a voice in the courtroom!

540 S. 5 Avenue th

CASA of West Central Illinois is actively recruiting volunteers in Fulton County to meet the growing need. “Being a CASA volunteer is such a fulfilling opportunity and works easily around work and home commitments”, says Price.

For more information about becoming a CASA volunteer or supporting this expansion, visit www.casaofwestcentralillinois.org or contact Kelly Price at 309.343.4299 or kprice@casaofwci.org.

OPERA HOUSE GRAND OPENING

The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the Opera House Plaza happened on Friday, October 24 , 2025. There was a short ceremony that was held before the ribbon cutting that had Mayor Kent McDowell cutting the ribbon alongside City Council members, Chamber Ambassadors and Chamber Board of Directors. After the ribbon cutting everyone was welcomed into the Opera House Plaza for the very first concert on the amphitheater stage by Monster Lane Band. Concessions were offered by EATS in the brand-new concession stand built just off to the side of the main stage th

Be sure to be looking for the entertainment schedule at the new plaza for the 2026 season beginning next spring. If you are an artist or know of entertainment you would like to see perform on the Opera House Plaza stage, contact the Canton Chamber office with details.

HOLIDAY LIGHTSHOW NEW ADDITION!

There will be a NEW ADDITION to the Holiday Lightshow this year! Chippy and Fergie, the two characters that appear during the lightshow, are having a baby...and it’s a girl!

The Holiday Lightshow committee has chosen to ask the help of all the third graders at Eastview, Westview and Lincoln schools. Each student will receive a color page as shown below. Then they are instructed to color the baby tree, maybe give her a face, and give her a name.

After all the coloring pages are returned to the Chamber office, the committee will pick out the best color and best name for the new baby.

So be sure to come out again this year for the Holiday Lightshow inside Big Creek Park to meet our new baby girl!

Canton 3 graders rd

SPOON RIVER PARTNERSHIP SPOTLIGHT

Community Conversations Continue: Housing and Retaining Young Talent

It has been inspiring to see such strong community engagement around the future of Fulton County. Our recent Community Revitalization Planning Meeting, held in partnership with the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), brought together a wonderful turnout of residents who shared their perspectives on housing needs and priorities across the county. The feedback gathered at this meeting will help guide our Community Revitalization Strategy a roadmap for how we can strengthen neighborhoods, improve housing options, and create opportunities for all residents.

If you weren’t able to attend, we still want to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts virtually at https://www.menti.com/alab9twsoqqe. Every voice matters as we work together to build a stronger Fulton County.

Looking ahead, we are excited to announce our next community meeting, “Reversing the Exodus,” scheduled for Wednesday, November 12th at 5:30 PM at the Donaldson Center in Canton. This event, hosted in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, will explore strategies for attracting and retaining young adults in our community. We’ll feature a live panel discussion of local residents ages 18 to 35 who will share their perspectives on what makes our area great and what we can do better to ensure that young people see a future here.

The entire community is invited to attend and join the conversation. If you’re between 18 and 35 and would like to serve on the panel, please register here: Panel Registration Form.

Together, we can create a community where every generation has the opportunity to live, work, and thrive. If you would like to lear ves, please check out our latest newsletter here: https://issuu.com/srped/docs/srped quarter fr=sYzAwNzg0OTM0NzE

By Michelle Spiva, Executive Director

309-647-2677 Ext. 3

mspiva@cantonillinois.org

SRC FOUNDATION SPOTLIGHT

GIVING TUESDAY

In the spring of 1979, the Spoon River College Foundation was established as a nonprofit organization with one clear mission: to support the general welfare of Spoon River College by securing and allocating funds for educational, service, capital, and other institutional needs.

While much has changed since then including the growth of Spoon River College to include an additional campus in Macomb, centers in Rushville and Havana, and Community Outreach Centers in Macomb and Canton the Foundation’s purpose remains the same: to actively seek resources that provide excellent educational opportunities for SRC students.

Since 2000, the Foundation and the College have provided millions of dollars in scholarships and academic programs, hardship and innovation grants, faculty research, facility and technology upgrades, and community projects.

Gifts to the Foundation come in many forms donations, naming opportunities, grants, scholarships, planned gifts, special campaigns, and fundraising events. And one of the largest of these events, #GivingSPOONday, is just around the corner.

This year’s #GivingSPOONday will take place on Tuesday, December 2, and the Foundation typically receives about 15% of its annual income from this campaign alone.

Launched in 2015 by then-Director Colin Davis, #GivingSPOONday challenges the community to raise as much money as possible in just 24 hours. The event coincides each year with Giving Tuesday, the global day of generosity that follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The first #GivingSPOONday raised about $8,100, but the campaign has grown dramatically reaching more than $100,000 in 2022. To date, the effort has raised over $464,000 to support Spoon River College students. This year, Foundation Director Dusty Berg has set a goal of 300 gifts by midnight on #GivingSPOONday.

When you give to the SRC Foundation, you’re helping students like Ebony who shared: “School was never easy for me. But the TRIO program a wanted to give up until something came over me and said assistant for an orthopedic office, and I can’t wait to go to work every day.”

Your gift no matter the size makes a real difference. To support students like Ebony and help them reach their goals, visit src.edu/givingtuesday.