Ionia Chamber & Member News

Brought to you by:

The Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce

A Word from the Director

Greetings!

The days are getting longer and we are so close to the official start of summer. I just love this time of the year filled with weekends spent outdoors with family and friends. I don't know about you, but for me, that includes lots of time spent in the water, barbecues, farm and flea markets, home projects and flower gardening, camping, and golfing (to name a few).

Speaking of golf, I'd once again like to thank ALL of those involved in helping make the 2021 Ionia Golf Classic a huge success. Candlestone Golf Resort was a fantastic host and went above and beyond to pull off an incredible event. None of it would be possible without the time and commitment of our Golf Classic Committee and event volunteers or without the generosity and support of our event Sponsors and donors.

A special thank you to PFCU, Walker, Fluke & Sheldon, Mercantile Bank, White's RV Rental, Greenridge Realty Darin Elliott, Young Automotive, Biggby Coffee, and Southside Restaurant. This year was certainly one of our biggest and best and we already can't wait to be back next year.

It certainly is wonderful to see the return of so many of our favorite events this year. Here are a few notable's to mark on your calendar:

Every First Thursday (through October) 5-8pm in downtown Ionia - First Thursday's on the Bricks - Shopping, Family Activities, Food & More
Every Saturday 9am - 2pm - Ionia Harvest Marketplace
June 23-27 - Lake Odessa Fair
July 1 - Ionia Fireworks Display
July 16- 24: The Ionia Free Fair
July 17: Ionia Free Fair Grand Parade - REGISTER A FLOAT
August 28: Saranac Bridgefest
October 1 & 2: Wizard of Oz Festival

Also, don't forget as a Chamber Member, the power to promote your events, promotions, job openings and more on our website, which gets over 80k hits per year! PLUS... if you post it there, we will also share it on our weekly Facebook Live "show" and in our monthly newsletter. Just log in to the Member Information Center, or give us a call if you need a hand getting set up!

Quick Poll - Your Feedback Matters!

Which of the following words BEST describes your primary motivation for joining the Chamber?

Investment

Influence

Involvement

Information

Other

What's Happening at the Chamber?

As things start to open back up, we are anxious to get back to our "regularly scheduled programming". We have set a goal to resume our Chamber Referral Breakfast Connect in August and Legislative Coffee in September. We will let you know once we have finalized the details for both of those events.

On another note.... we have been telling you to save the date for Thursday, August 12th for the IACC Annual Celebration and we are finally ready to share more details!

Our event committee has spent a ton of time this past year reviewing our Community Awards event and member feedback. We've been waiting patiently for restrictions to lift and looking for ways to bring you a re-invigorated event. Primarily we are working to shift the event to be more focused around our members and offer a great platform to build relationships and celebrate each other.

You can download the draft of the event flyer here, but here are the key takeaways for the Sizzlin' Summer MVP Tailgate: