O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber helping to connect people, provide resources during COVID-19
Hoping to be a beacon of light in dark economic times, the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce has been providing resources since the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic and cities and states shutdown in March.
One of the primary goals has been to keep people connected, said Chamber Director Debbie Arell-Martinez.
“It’s so heartbreaking watching these businesses suffer. They weren’t prepared for this — no one was. Hopefully, we’re finding way to help them recover,” she said. “We work hard to have that personal connection with our members — and they with us. We miss seeing everyone in-person! We’ve seen a few businesses close during COVID-19. We hate to see that and hope we can be a resource to others to help them through these crazy times.”
The Chamber is also a business and they have had to temporarily furlough over half of their staff.
“We’ve been working just as hard, if not harder, to keep our membership and the local business community informed,” she said. “We partnered with one of our members, Moonlight Computing, to provide an ever-evolving database of business openings and services provided. We’ve held virtual meetings with information on available financial options, and unemployment and re-opening information as its released.
“We’ve really tried to weed out all the extraneous information and share just what businesses need to know. We are in touch with our members and have tried to continue to be a resource to them. We even debuted a new website.”
To keep up-to-date, they have adjusted to virtual meetings as a way of life.
The chamber has been attending virtual informational meetings with the U.S. Chamber, the Illinois Chamber, Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and others since the very first day after the stay-at-home order was in place.
“In those first days, we ‘attended’ multiple meetings on the same day. It was definitely information overload, but it was information we needed to pare down so we could share it with our members,” Arell-Martinez said. “We had a Chamber Board of Director meeting scheduled for just a few days after the stay-at-home order was in place.
“We canceled that meeting because we’d never had a meeting virtually and weren’t quite ready to do so. Looking back after 3.5 months, I can’t believe how far we’re come in just a short time!”
Chamber has enjoyed ‘great virtual response’
At first, they started out having small coffee chats called “9 at 9” via the Zoom videoconferencing tool once a week.
“We hosted nine chamber members and we’d just check in with each other and make sure those who attended were doing OK. We gradually added virtual committee meetings to the schedule. We’re now having our monthly Business Over Breakfast and Luncheons via Zoom,” she said.
“Although not the attendance we would have for in-person events, we’ve had a great virtual response. What stands out the most is we have people who have been longtime chamber members attend virtually who haven’t always had the time to attend in-person. We love that!” Arell-Martinez added.
Zoom spawns ‘Back to Business’
Once they started using Zoom, they decided to start a “Back to Business” video interview series.
“We have some of our emerging leaders interviewing Chamber business leaders. It’s been challenging and a lot of fun and something we plan to continue doing,” she said.
Right now, the chamber board of directors has decided to hold off on in-person events at least through July.
“We hope to start hosting events again soon when it’s beneficial and safe for all involved. One thing we have learned — our membership does like a virtual meeting or event occasionally. I’m confident we’ll continue to provide some offerings virtually,”Arell-Martinez said.
A recent virtual gathering was a membership luncheon July 8 with guest speaker Dr. Terrence D. Duncan to discuss Diversity and Inclusion, and how programs and progress can benefit your business. In case they missed it, members can access it at https://ofallonchamber.com/member-luncheon-july-8-2020/ — images, presentation recap and video meeting.
Upcoming events on the calendar
The chamber’s Economic Development Committee meeting at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, July 16, is also through Zoom. The guest speaker is Andy Waterman, communication manager of IllinoisSouth Tourism, who will talk about tourism post-COVID.
A Virtual Statement of Support Signing organized by the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve will take place Wednesday, July 22 during the TEAMS meeting from 8:30-9:30 a.m., but members must pre-register. This statement is a cornerstone of ESGR’s efforts to gain and maintain support for the National Guard and Reserve from employers. ESGR encourages employers to act as advocates for employee participation in the military.
ESGR Chair Laurie Silvey and ESGR Vice Chair Michael Holub will participate. To pre-register in order to receive the Statement of Support, visit www.esgrevents.org. For more information, contact Scott Klein at scottiraklein@gmail.com or csilvia.esgr@gmail.com.
People can register for the meetings at the website, www.ofallonchamber.org, or find out more information.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 1:14 PM.