INSPIRE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE COMING JANUARY 2025!

With the goal of promoting the communities surrounding Centralia, the Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce is focusing efforts to market the community and businesses.

“We heard there was a real need for marketing in our community, and we felt obligated to initiate the push,” said Matthew Packman, assistant chamber director.

After being awarded $50,000 for marketing from state DCEO grant funds, the Centralia Chamber set out to connect the greater community together to benefit the entire region.

“We had several conversations about the campaign before landing on a brand name. We were looking for a phrase that could help us redefine how we embrace the greater area as one big community,” adds Packman. “That’s when I came up with ‘Inspire Community’ as the brand.”

Work on Inspire Community got underway in Spring 2024 with the chamber board of directors and staff to develop a marketing plan.

“To make the biggest impact in marketing, we knew we had to have the brand very visible. We have been successful with the ’Shop Local’ campaign on every chamber member’s front door, so we had ideas to do that again, plus add billboards to reach more people and a magazine to have articles and details,” said Marcus Holland, executive director.

By the time the chamber’s summer internship program started in June, the plan was in place and the interns played a significant role in gathering information and photos highlighting the greater community. These photos can be seen in the newly published magazine and the billboards that are seen throughout the community.

“Requests have been made for a publication to give to new residents. When the hospital is hiring a nurse or a manufacturer is hiring unique talent, we needed more information to sell our greater community and all the resources we have,” said Holland.

Alongside the mission of bringing the greater Centralia area together, this marketing campaign showcases just how impressive the surrounding towns and villages area – highlighting the businesses and amenities they have to offer.

“I have always seen the Greater Centralia Area as one big community, bound by different welcome signs,” said chamber marketing director, Jamie Allen. “We knew we wanted to ‘show our community to our community’ with this campaign. We can never have too much positivity, and I feel Inspire Community does just that – it showcases all of the positive things in our community, our whole community.”

Though each community in Centralia’s 10-mile radius possesses its own individual history and identity, the success of one town or village is oftentimes felt by those surrounding it.

“When we come together as a greater community, we see our events grow and the quality of life improve. The shared amenities start with water provided the City of Centralia water treatment plant, and there are also golf courses, parks, lakes, restaurants, St. Mary’s Hospital, Kaskaskia College, and many other things that we all enjoy throughout the greater community,” said Holland.

Inspire Community hopes to unite the unique communities of our greater area as one, so that together we all may assist and benefit from our collective growth.

The first phase of this campaign includes the billboards at each main artery of Centralia along highways 51 and 161. Then, a magazine will officially be distributed in January 2025, along with information added to the Greater Centralia Chamber of Commerce website: www.centraliachamber.com.