Chamber Receives $50,000 Grant from State of IL

There was no one more surprised than the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce when word came in that they had received a $50,000 Back-to-Business Chamber Grant.   “I was truly speechless when I opened the congratulations e-mail” said Dawn Mushill, President/CEO of the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce.  “We had applied in early January, hoping to receive the minimum of $5,000 and we received the maximum of $50,000” said Mushill.  
               
Grant qualifications included designation as an Illinois Chamber of Commerce and providing the State of Illinois with the Chamber’s last three tax returns.  The grant was awarded based on three years of losses for each applicant.  “The Chamber lost over $80,000 over the course of three years.  We were unable to host our yearly fundraisers for three years in a row.  To save money during that time, the Chamber reduced staff through attrition and cut back on expenses, while doing our best to still maintain all of our services” said Mushill.
               
The Chamber continued to be very active during the pandemic.  They worked with Chamber members to help them apply for two rounds of PPP (over $700,000 in PPP awarded to Chamber members), provided resources and connections for their members, recorded podcasts that brought experts to keep people updated on current news and hosted an online Chamber Job Fair”.  
               
When the Chamber was notified of the grant award, Mushill asked if she handwrote a thank you note to the Governor, would he personally receive it.  Mushill was told “instead of handwriting a note, how would you like to thank him in person”.  Mushill said “absolutely”.  
               
Mushill had the opportunity to thank him in person on May 24, at the ribbon cutting for the new Madison County Transit/ACT building in Pontoon Beach.  “We were told we had about ten seconds with him but he was very present and engaging, spending about three minutes with us” said Mushill.  He asked Mushill how the Chamber planned to spend the money and also indicated this would not be the last grant available for tourism/chambers.  “Meeting the Governor was a highlight of my 24-year career with the Chamber” said Mushill.  
               
The Chamber Board of Directors will be meeting to discuss how the grant money will be utilized.  The Chamber has some very old computers (oldest from 2009), a staff of less than two full-time people and many new ideas how they can assist their Chamber members and the community.
               
For more information about the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce, visit their website at www.troymaryvillecoc.com or follow them on Facebook.  You may also call them at 618-667-8769.