Monett Area Chamber of Commerce plans busy year, includes Eggs/Issues, spring conferences

Collaborations to revive Strawberry Festival, Monett Artist Guild, plus inaugural Great Monett Smoke-Off
 
 
The Monett Area Chamber of Commerce has announced plans for 2026, including the revival of two popular Monett events and the continuation of traditional Chamber favorites.
“Our focus this year will be trying to fundraise,” said Jasmine Burks, Chamber executive director. “Last year, we were regaining trust and doing PR. A lot of people have rallied behind us. Now we’re going to do more. It goes along with the theme of moving forward.”
Coming up on March 5 will be the annual Chamber banquet at the City Park Casino. This year’s theme is “A Tale As Old As Time: Turning the Page Together.”
Burks describes the event as “a chance to honor the storytellers of our community, our businesses, our leaders, and every person helping write the next great chapter of Monett.”
Winners of the Chamber’s annual awards are announced at the banquet. Nominations are being accepted until Jan. 30. The awards include:
• Community Service, honoring long-term contributions to Monett, usually in several fields;
• Pride and Progress, recognizing specific projects, such as a beautification effort, a concentrated focus on a specific topic or field of service, often a recent effort;
• Small and big businesses of the year;
• Young Professional of the Year.
Nominations are also being accepted for Chamber board members. From the field of nominees, the Chamber board will present the audience at the banquet with a field of six. Four will be named to the board. The other two will become alternates who can participate in activities and who frequently fill unexpected vacancies. Candidates are sought “who exemplify strong community leadership and deserve recognition.”
This past year, one of those vacancies developed when Jeff Musick stepped down as the board secretary/treasurer. Heather VanNote, who leaves the board in March, stepped in to serve in that capacity for the rest of the Chamber’s business year.
Spring conferences, Eggs and Issues
On the Chamber’s calendar next will be the agriculture conference on Feb. 24 at the Monett National Guard Armory. Instead of only having a midday dairy conference, followed by a two-hour break by the beef cattlemen’s conference, this year’s event will have a presentation connecting the two halves. Dave Buehler with Elderberry Farms will speak on his elderberry operation and the opportunities available in that market. The trade show and Chamber-sponsored meals will also return.
Next on the calendar will be the Eggs and Issues event, where local state lawmakers speak about the current Missouri General Assembly session, pending legislation, and projections on what bills will complete the sprint to the governor’s desk at the end of May. Since this is an election year with several proposals about tax reform and school funding already at issue, the speakers will likely state their case for re-election.
Also in April, the Chamber plans to sponsor a citywide garage sale a week before the annual clean-up week. Promotion from the Chamber will encourage local participation. Food Truck Fridays will also take place in April and August. The benefit golf tournament for the Chamber and the Chamber Foundation is planned for June 5 at the Windmill Ridge Golf Course.
Revivals
Two major events, as yet unscheduled, will take place in the middle half of the year. Burks announced the Chamber Foundation is sponsoring a return of the Monett Artist Guild, the town’s amateur theatrical group. Performances are planned for the City Hall Auditorium. The elevator at City Hall is back in service. Efforts are underway to restore the lighting and sound systems which were dismantled after the facility went out of service in 2015. Burks said some of that equipment was given to the City of Mt. Vernon for use at the Marc, which is now up for sale. If the new owner does not want the equipment, Burks said Mt. Vernon officials have offered to return it to Monett.
The Monett Artist Guild usually presented a spring play and a summer musical. Adam Verstraete is still the contact person for persons interested in getting involved. Burks said smaller performances may be scheduled for the Monett Historical Society’s Gillioz Theatre facsimile at the Monett Museum.
In addition, the Young Professionals Network has announced plans to revive the Strawberry Festival, started by coffee shop operator Shawn Bennett 20 years ago to celebrate Monett’s role in the strawberry industry and to attract people downtown. Alex Ortega at First State Bank is leading the festival revival effort.
Monett’s biggest public event, the annual July 4 celebration, is again on the schedule. New features are expected as part of the nation’s 250th birthday. As a fundraiser, Burks said the Chamber will hold a duck race. Tentative plans call for assembling a track of pool noodles in the City Park Lake, and propelling the ducks in a boat with a leaf blower. Details are still in development.
Moving out of the summer, the Chamber will host its annual New Teacher Breakfast, celebrating new faculty joining the Monett, Pierce City, and Purdy school districts. Monett will participate in the nationwide September 11 Walk, marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks and honoring those who died and struggled in the recovery.
On Sept. 19, the Chamber will host The Great Monett Smoke-Off, an inaugural barbecue contest.
Year-end activities increasing
The Festival of Lights, running Nov. 26 to Dec. 31, will close the year at South Park. Plans call for another expansion of the event, incorporating food trucks in the parking lot across from the
Elf Hut, and adding games like a corn hole tournament and activities for kids at the Casino.
This past holiday, in cooperation with Monett Main Street, the Chamber introduced the Jolly Trolley, offering bus rides on what ended up one night only through the Festival of Lights. Steve Burnett, the new airport manager, loaned his Swiss Alps-style bus for the trip, which started at Briar House Brewery. Burks hopes to keep that going, starting early in the festival’s season right after Thanksgiving.
The Festival of Lights was very successful this year. Burks said donations from visitors will end up around $24,000. Funds will be used to enhance other programs.
“We’re going to focus on the ‘area’ Chamber emphasis this year,” Burks said. We’re going to redo the bylaws so there’s a seat on the board for representatives from Purdy and Pierce City. We’re opening up scholarships for students in their high schools, as well as honoring them with teacher appreciation.”
Chamber staffing has picked up with the arrival of Dennis Myers, who recently retired from the city overseeing the City Park Casino bookings. He joins the Chamber as member services and facilities assistant. Darren Indovina, who has been volunteering for several months at the Chamber, officially becomes the finance assistant. Both are part-time. Burks said they will help keep the Chamber office open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., even over lunch breaks, with Myers on deck mornings and Indovina in the afternoons, Monday through Thursday. Doors will remain closed on Fridays, Burks said, but the staff will be present to hold meetings.
A marketing and sponsorship directory was recently completed, detailing Chamber programs for the year, as well as activities by the Young Professionals Network and other services.