Monett Chamber expands year-end activities list

The Monett Area Chamber of Commerce has numerous programs and activities planned for the last quarter of 2025.
Coming up at the end of October will be the return of the Leadership Monett program, not held since Jeff Meredith was the executive director. Fifteen participants have signed up for the seven-week class. Jasmine Burks, executive director, has invited speakers from community to make presentations and schedule visits to businesses to orient the class on Monett’s history, business community, and how to engage as an active leader within the Chamber. A graduation will be held on Dec. 19.
Burks is presently working on marketing sponsorship season. Her drafted plan has gone to the board, adding new sponsorship opportunities for smaller firms to participate in programs.
The Chamber is partnering with the Monett Area YMCA’s Festival of Trees this year. Businesses will decorate a Christmas tree displayed at the Y through December. Visitors can vote on their favorites. There will be no cost to businesses to participate in this promotion. All the displayed ornaments can be picked up after the holidays.
The Young Professionals Network will hold its Jingle Mingle at the YMCA too.
The Festival of Lights at Monett’s South Park will start on Thanksgiving evening and remain active for tours through Jan. 2, since city electric crews won’t be back from their holiday break until then. Volunteers will staff the Elf Hut at the end of the tour on the extra days.
Several new features will be added to the Festival of Lights this year. The construction technology class at the Scott Regional Technology Center is “putting some love” into the Elf Hut itself, replacing the step. Additional paint is likely, Burks said. The city laid a concrete pad for the Elf Hut to act as a moisture barrier, positioning it a bit farther back from the road. Instead of a marquee sign, a digital display will announce which group is staffing the hut each night. A security camera is also being added.
The city’s electric department added two extensions in addition to the latest expansion, creating capacity for more displays this year. A mailbox is being added by the Elf Hut for children to drop Letters to Santa. A team has pledged that they will shuttle those letters to Santa so that he can answer them.
To encourage more engagement with visitors, the city’s electric department has agreed to add a pedestal by the light pole next to the Elf Hut that will enable a food truck to join the fun. Students from the high school’s GO CAPS program plan to schedule Cookies with Santa, opening the City Park Casino on special evenings to share hot chocolate, cookies, and “goodie bags.” A “scavenger hunt” is planned for kids to look for special light displays in the park. Burks said all this is planned to stimulate more traffic, making the trip more than viewing the same attractions seen each year.
Preparations are also underway for the annual Christmas parade on Dec. 13. Registration will be available online with a deadline of Dec. 6. Organizers will stage the advance line-up on Front Street. Judging will be done during the parade this year, not prior to the parade as in past years. Judges will view participants from a second-story window and use walkie-talkies to call results to the street, where organizers will redirect winners to a different location for photos at the end of the parade.
Looking ahead, Burks said the Good Morning Monett breakfast sessions are being dropped in favor of more Lunch and Learn sessions, which have had better attendance. Every-other-month Lunch and Learns will have a small-business theme, discussing topics such as enhanced websites and using artificial intelligence. By focusing on showing value in joining the Chamber, Burks plans to highlight volunteer opportunities, showing the strength in working together. Chamber scholarships are expanding. The Chamber Foundation is discussing how to promote tourism in Monett and economic development. As part of the Chamber’s broader scope to serve the Monett area, the foundation is also opening up its annual scholarships in the coming year to students in Pierce City and Purdy.
The Chamber board meets on the second Wednesday of each month. The Chamber Foundation meets quarterly on the first Thursday of the month.