
June 4, 2021
This week's articles Thank You! Save the Date for the Annual Awards Banquet/Fundraiser June BAH McGinley Peanut Butter and Jam Festival Entertainment Schedule Mac's Family Fun Time Street Art Fest September 18 HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital Virtual Wine Tasting Event! Farmer's Market at The Greenhouse of Highland Optimist Pizza! Bailout Escape Room The Lory Theater Press Release Highland Small Business Employee Appreciation Program Sponsored by Highland Moose Lodge #2479 Anderson Hospital Earns CMS 5 Star Quality Rating Representative Charlie Meier Invitation The Chamber office is OPEN! Thank You! Hillarie Holzinger Thank you! I just wanted to take an opportunity to say "thank you" for all of the well wishes and words of encouragement I have received thus far. It is my goal now, as it will always be, to support the Chamber of Commerce and the Highland Community. My door is always open (sometimes literally) so please know that you can reach out to me for assistance. Thanks again and have a great weekend! Hillarie Save the Date for the Annual Awards Banquet/Fundraiser The Annual Awards Banquet/Fundraiser will be held on February 26th at The Olde Wicks Factory and Event Center. Mark your calendar for this event that celebrates the people that help make Highland the success that it has been and always will be! June BAH McGinley Peanut Butter and Jam Festival Entertainment Schedule Mac's Family Fun Time Mac’s Family Fun Time 13229 US Hwy 40 Highland, IL 62249 www.macsfamilyfun.com Press Release Re: New Family Entertainment Center opens in Highland For immediate release: Owners of The Lory Theater set to open new family entertainment center in Highland. Remember the frozen custard they sold at The Lory Theater while it was closed due to covid? Well, that product now has a permanent home and name: Mac’s Family Fun Time Lory Theater owners, Justin & Hillary McLaughlin, found a silver lining to the covid closure of their business: they learned how to make frozen custard and gourmet popcorn. This knowledge acted as a spring board into a new business venture. The two products will act as a cornerstone to what will ultimately be a family entertainment center. The concept of Mac’s is not a new one as the couple has been planning for the new company since 2018. Mac’s is located at 13229 US Hwy 40 in Highland. The building, originally built as a church, was the home of dance instruction company “Dance House” from 2007 until recently vacating with the sale of the building to the McLaughlin’s. The frozen custard shop will be able to expand their operation into 7000+ square feet of current building and eventually utilize seven acres of land. Immediate plans are to open with frozen custard, gourmet popcorn, birthday party hosting, and indoor bounce houses. A small children’s arcade is planned for later this year. The future expansions include an eighteen-hole miniature golf course and an electric go kart track. “The name is a tribute to our Grandfathers,” Hillary grins. “Justin’s Grandfather’s nickname was Mac, and my Grandfather drove a Mac truck for years. It’s a fun family reference.” “We’re going to really focus on the birthday party packages,” says Justin. “We would get so many requests for parties at The Lory, but there was never a good way to make it work for us logistically. So we’re going to make it awesome at Mac’s!” Please visit the new website for hours and birthday party scheduling at, www.macsfamilyfun.com Street Art Fest September 18 Plans are underway for the 2021 Street Art Festival! Are you or someone you know artistic and would like to share their talents with us? If so, Street Art Festival is a great way to highlight your talents. There are also opportunities to be an event sponsor or vendor. More details to follow........... HSHS St. Joseph's Hospital Virtual Wine Tasting Event! Farmer's Market at The Greenhouse of Highland Optimist Pizza! Optimist Pizza fans The pizza wagon will be out Friday June 11th and Saturday June 12th in front of Kloss Furniture on Broadway in Highland. Bailout Escape Room Looking for something fun to do ? Bailout Escape Rooms is open and ready to challenge your group! Come see if you have what it takes to escape! The Lory Theater Press Release Lory Theater 810 Main Street Highland, IL 62249 www.thelorytheater.com Press Release Re: Reopening! For immediate release: The Lory Theater, closed since March 16^th 2020, set to reopen for movies again on Friday June 11^th 2021. Like most businesses, when the Lory Theater closed their doors due to covid-19, they assumed it would only be for a few weeks. Owners Justin & Hillary McLaughlin never envisioned an entire year of not showing movies, but that’s exactly what happened. Fast forward to present day, and you’ll meet a very grateful married couple. “We’re just so happy to have survived to this point where we can finally reopen,” said Justin. “This community supported us all the way. We can’t wait to see everyone back!” The Lory was able to weather the storm of mandated closures via three avenues: Support and flexibility from their bank, Bradford National; Government programs such as the Paycheck Protection Program (aka the PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (aka EIDL); and finally, creativity on the part of the McLaughlin’s who came up with new ways to generate revenue. Out of the front door of the Lory while it was closed, they sold Gourmet Popcorn and Frozen Custard to walk up customers. Justin again: “If there is a silver lining to being closed, it is this: all of the stuff we learned during the closure, such as how to make frozen custard and gourmet popcorn, that knowledge is ours now. We get to keep it. That’s pretty valuable.” Just how valuable will become clear in the near future as the busy entrepreneurs have elaborate plans to keep the frozen custard business going at a yet to be announced location in Highland to make room for the movies coming back to The Lory. “We have a date for movies: June 11^th. We should be able to announce our new location for the Frozen Custard business just before that, with a goal to get it open by the Fourth of July. This will be a summer of movies, a summer of frozen custard, but most importantly it will be a summer of healing. We will have the opportunity to gather again, the lights will go down, and we’ll experience a story together. That sense of community, it’s what makes the movies special, and it’s our job.” Highland Small Business Employee Appreciation Program Sponsored by Highland Moose Lodge #2479 Anderson Hospital Earns CMS 5 Star Quality Rating In its 2021 hospital ranking just released, the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) awarded Anderson Hospital a coveted, five-star rating. The annual CMS stars program serves as a healthcare guide to hospital quality, comprising more than 50 individual measures that include hospital mortality, avoidable readmission, hospital infections and patient experience. “Only 13% of hospitals nationwide are currently recognized as a 5-star facility,” explained Keith Page, Anderson Hospital President and CEO. “We are incredibly proud of our physicians and staff for this accomplishment.” Anderson Hospital is the only hospital in southwestern Illinois to earn the 5 Star Rating. In the St. Louis area, only 3 other hospitals hold this rating including Missouri Baptist Medical Center, Mercy St. Louis, and St. Lukes in Chesterfield. Posted on the federal “Hospital Compare” website, the CMS hospital rankings serve as hospital report cards to help inform where to best receive medical care. read more... Representative Charlie Meier Invitation The Chamber office is OPEN! Chamber Office Hours Monday - Thursday: 9am - 3pm If you would like to meet with us and want to insure that we are in the office, feel free to call ahead of time as we may be out and about visiting with Chamber members. Thank you! DEADLINE for getting information in the Chamber weekly newsletter is Thursday by 3:00pm. *** If you miss the cut-off date, we keep your information for the next publication. Please submit your information to hillarie@highlandillinois.com.
Single Column- Chamber Newsletter - June 4, 2021