What does the Chamber of Commerce do?
-
Community
We connect businesses with our Greater Centralia community through Ribbon Cuttings, Chamber Events, and Community Events.
-
Connection
We keep our members up to date with the latest news through email and social media. We help members host networking events to connect businesses to one another.
-
Progress
We listen to our members’ individual business needs, offering one-on-one consultations in order to connect them to resources to help their business or organization. We also advocate for all of our members.
Our Employees
-
Marcus Holland
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Originally from St. Peters, MO, and graduating from Southeast Missouri State University, Marcus moved to Centralia in 2006 and joined the chamber of commerce.
“My favorite job is my current role as Chamber Director. I get to utilize years of sales, fundraising, and marketing experience to directly help businesses reach their goals. This role allows me to sit down and talk with chamber members, connect the dots and point them in the right direction. I encourage any business to reach out to the Chamber if they need guidance or reassurance with their next steps.”
-
Matthew Packman
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR
A longtime Centralia resident, Matt is a 2005 graduate of Centralia High School, with degrees from Kaskaskia College and Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. Matt began with the Centralia Chamber of Commerce in 2023 following a career in journalism.
“Through my years in journalism, I was given the opportunity to learn about our local businesses and organizations and tell their stories. Now, as assistant director of the Centralia Chamber of Commerce, I have the privilege of serving those entities and helping ensure the continued economic growth of our city.”
-
Jamie Allen
MARKETING COORDINATOR
A Centralia native and graduate of Centralia High School Kaskaskia College, with additional studies at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville, Jamie returned to Centralia in 2018 to begin her business, Studio Bee. Jamie joined the Centralia Chamber of Commerce as marketing coordinator and social media manager in 2023.
"As a current business owner in Centralia, I can relate to the business needs of our Chamber members. I want to be able to advocate for our local businesses and help them succeed."
Our Influencers
Our Board of Directors is a volunteer group of business owner and leaders. Their main purpose is to guide the Chamber employees and influence a healthy business climate in our community.
Our Members
Community
Ribbon Cuttings
We love celebrating new businesses with an official Ribbon Cutting. For many businesses, it is the first step in letting the community know that you are officially open for business. We invite chamber members, community leaders, city officials, and local media to the ceremony, because it is important for the community to see the good news of new investments.
Community Calendar
The Centralia Chamber hosts the best online community calendar that is updated frequently with events, fundraisers, concerts, festivals, and “things to do.” We use this information in our weekly email, social media updates, and announcements at chamber events.
Chamber Events
Throughout the year, there are several events that we host so our members can network and gain visibility. These annual events include our Annual Banquet in February, Home & Community Expo in March, Golf Plae Dae in May, Balloon Fest in August, Downtown Trick-or-Treat in October, and Downtown Christmas Stroll in December.
Monthly events include our “Inspire Connection Luncheons”, which take place at 12:00pm on the third Wednesday of each month at various member locations. Then, our “After Hours” are hosted by chamber members, which is a free networking event from 5:00pm to 7:00pm once per month to meet other business professionals and community leaders.
Contact the chamber office to learn more about sponsorship or hosting opportunities!
Shop Local Initiative
When you shop local, money stays local. Locally owned businesses support our organizations, schools, and sports teams more than the large, corporate-owned stores.
Look at our membership directory to see all the businesses that support local efforts. Our community’s success and future rely on businesses staying local.
Member Updates
When there is news to share about a member, we can help write and distribute that information through our email, social media, website, and directly to local media.
Connection
Weekly Email Communication
Our weekly email is the primary way we communicate, and all chamber members can sign up for FREE to stay on top of what is happening in our community and other business-focused news. The weekly email features our member updates, chamber events, and community calendar.
Social Media Presence
We have stepped away from vanity metrics and have focused on increased engagement on social media through our Chamber of Commerce and Balloon Fest pages. Recently, we have doubled our audience and multiplied our interactions. Through that audience, we can highlight community and member news.
Contact our office to learn more about how you can improve your social media presence!
Connect Through Networking
The best marketing method is through person-to-person connections and word-of-mouth. Chamber members can meet with like-minded business professionals to grow their business potential and enhance their business success.
By just being a member, the Centralia Chamber team and leadership can educate themselves and attract potential customers. These connections are important to properly promote and market your business.
Marketing
We help business members connect with marketing and public relations opportunities through radio stations, newspapers, billboards, sponsorships, online advertising, and social media.
The first rule for business marketing is to be found. Even if you are not selling a product, marketing helps with hiring workforce or business-to-business relationships.
We can help get your business found online, in our community, and on social media. Chamber members are listed on our online directory and are found at the top of lists on search engines!
Progress
Consultations
Using all the tools above, the chamber of commerce is ready to help your business learn the best practices of marketing, promotions, and planning. We are available to discuss strategies, budgets, and “what works best.”
If you struggle to increase your social media engagement or to convert “likes” to sales, please set up a meeting with our team.
If you struggle to grow your non-profit fundraising efforts, please set up a meeting to realize your potential for growth.
If you have any business questions or needs, we can help. Even if we do not know the answer, we will work to point you to resources or help you find a solution.
Student to Employee Initiative
Each year the Centralia Chamber works with area schools, educators, and students to present higher education opportunities and career paths for real jobs in our community.
By highlighting good-paying and rewarding careers in our community, we hope to change perspective and highlight that students can be successful here.
Inspire Community
With the ever-changing tools of communication and marketing - plus the segmented social landscape – we must work together to be a better community.
It is the goal of the “inspire community” campaign to highlight our greater community and the connections we have to make progress together.
Understanding Business Needs
With hundreds of businesses as members, we have a lot of conversations about business needs. With our partnerships, we can help connect your business to resources.
RESOURCES:
Advocating for Progress
Housing, community development, and small businesses provide the quality of life that our workforce needs. For businesses to be successful, it is important that we advocate for this progress to recruit and retain workforce in our community.
We advocate through relationships with municipalities, formal requests for legislative changes, and public relations campaigns. We encourage businesses to use the chamber of commerce’s representation of the business community as a source of credibility to help amplify our unified voice for progress.