Welcome to the latest addition to the Door Doctor of Southern Illinois's fleet of vehicles. Continuing to serve our community!
Member News
E.R. Brown will be hosting their Annual Tent Sale from Thursday at 9am to Saturday at 4pm. Cardinals/Cubs baseball ticket drawing giveaway with Z100. Come support this local business and fellow chamber member!
In May, we started our summer promotion in the Rend Lake Adventures newsletter. In conjunction with that, we are developing a "Shop & Play" section of the website for our community visitors. This is a place you can put special sales, food events, and event activities. This feeds from our regular full community calendar, but these items are broken into genres and include a link to a printable list.
The United States is in the midst of an opioid overdose epidemic. Opioids (including prescription and illicit opioids) killed more than 33,000 Americans in 2015—which is nearly quadruple the number from 2000.
Learn how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to protect individuals and families—including your employees and your business—from this dangerous problem. FOUR CRITICAL CHALLENGES FACING EMPLOYERS
Day Camp @ Camp Manitowa
New Opportunities!
Are you looking for new employment or volunteer opportunities? Check out the Chamber Opportunity Board! Start a new chapter in your community!
8 East Steps to Attracting Your Ideal Customer and Improving Sales
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is wanting to be all things to all customers. Just as in life and friendships, you will never be everyone’s “cup of tea.”
That’s okay. It’s more than okay.
Understanding this and attracting your ideal customer is the one way to build loyalty among your clients and provide them with the services and products they need. In personalizing your sales approach you will gain more, not less. Here’s how you can go about doing that:
You can use the 'Multipost' function in the ChamberNation portal to more effectively reach your social media followers.
If someone states they are selling advertisements for an upcoming event or program, please contact the planning organization to confirm the partnership. We have had reports of an individual who sold advertisements in the name of the Rend Lake Fireworks. We found out about this on Wednesday, and none of the funds went to the event. They were not affiliated with the event and weaseled their way onto the event grounds. This is something we are going to be more proactive about in the future. But we need your help.
Please protect your community. If you have been scammed, see a scam, or suspect a scam, please notify the chamber so we can alert the membership. You don't have to do this alone.
This week, the Benton Public Library kicked off their summer reading program. Explore the following topics with your children:
6/25 - Science Day
7/2 - UofI Extension - Butterflies
7/9 - US Corps of Engineers - Birds
7/16 - Bicycle Safety Day
7/23 - Award and Prize Picnic
The Benton Public Library is also part of “Illinois Reads”. This program was introduced by the Illinois Reading Council in March 2013. The initiative encourages people to read books by Illinois authors. Each year, the program offers a new list of books at six different age levels. “Illinois Reads” kicks off in March and concludes in November with “Family Reading Night”. The Benton Public Library is pleased to have these books in their collection and invites you to join in the fun!
Childcare Assistance Resources
Too many low- to moderate-income, working parents are going without the child care help for which they qualify. Many might not know of its availability. Others might be aware of it, but wary after two years of turmoil related to the state’s budget impasse and sharp cuts in eligibility – cuts that ReadyNation and a bipartisan group of legislators and allies helped to reverse last August. So, to help increase working parents’ awareness of the child care program, we’ve developed a one-page flyer you can find at this link. It briefly describes the services available, and notes where parents can call or check online to see if they are eligible to participate.
If you are an employer or manager, please consider:
Posting this flyer in break rooms
Including it with “onboarding” materials for new hires
Sharing it with human resources execs
Publicizing it in employee newsletters
Member Events
Rend Lake Trivia Night
07/13/2018
Rend Lake College - Rec Center
468 N Ken Gray Parkway
Ina, IL 62846
Full House of Death
07/14/2018
Pheasant Hollow Winery
14931 IL-37
Whittington, IL 62897
Legos at the Library
07/14/2018
Benton Public Library
502 S Main St.
Benton, IL 62812
Check out other community activities and submit events here!
Share Your News!
Do you have a special announcement or product you would like to showcase? Let us know so we can share it with everyone! Email the chamber office information and a picture!
Too many low- to moderate-income, working parents are going without the child care help for which they qualify. Many might not know of its availability. Others might be aware of it, but wary after two years of turmoil related to the state’s budget impasse and sharp cuts in eligibility – cuts that ReadyNation and a bipartisan group of legislators and allies helped to reverse last August. So, to help increase working parents’ awareness of the child care program, 
Rend Lake Trivia Night
Rend Lake Visitor Center Public Paint Party
3rd Friday Music at Pheasant Hollow Winery