Month: December 2018

The Callison Family with Breakthru Beverage Received December Commitment to Community Award

December 26, 2018 | Commitment to Community

The Commitment to Community Award is presented quarterly to a Chamber Member who demonstrates a commitment to improving the quality of life for residents and/or businesses in the greater Belleville area. The Ambassadors are honored to present this quarter’s award to The Callison Family with Breakthru Beverage. Breakthru Beverage Belleville is a wholesale wine and spirits distributor that serves the southern half of Illinois and is focused on the Metro East. Their main office is located in Belleville in the Belle Valley Industrial Park. Breakthru Belleville was originally started in 1933 in East St. Louis by an independent entrepreneur named Ed Pohlman. Olin Callison joined the distributorship as the General Manager in 1934 and purchased the business from Ed Pohlman’s widow in 1947. In 1954 and 1956, Olin’s two son’s (Bill and Ed Callison respectively)…

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Chamber Staff Shares Favorite Holiday Traditions and Memories

December 19, 2018 | Membership Tips

It’s that time of year when everyone is buying presents, baking cookies, and decorating their trees. Or is it? What is your favorite holiday memory? Wendy Pfeil: My favorite Christmas memory was about 15 years ago. My grandma was entering her last days and family was staying with her around the clock. I had the privilege of staying with her December 23-24 so our usual Christmas Eve tradition would not happen, Church, Chili, gifts, in fact, there was nothing cooked for that evening. The entire family gathered in my Grandma’s room Christmas Eve to spend it with her. As my Aunts came in to relieve me, my mom was upset that our tradition would not happen but that lead to one of my favorite memories. As we arrived back at my parent’s house, my sister and I began raiding the freezer, there were plenty…

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Young Professionals Leadership Committee Takes Part in Annual Belleville Gingerbread Competition

December 12, 2018 | Community Service | General

Pictured: Landon Brooks (Tavern on Main), Lyndsey Younger (City of Belleville), Jessica Orelt (Albert Orelt Allstate Agency), & Diana Goebel (Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce) This past year, the Young Professionals group that is part of the Greater Belleville Chamber started a Leadership Committee to help plan upcoming events and activities for the group. This year, the committee decided to take part in the annual gingerbread competition that takes place in downtown Belleville. Sponsored by the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce, the young professionals took part in the Small Business Charity contest. This category can win $500 for a non-profit of their choice. Their creation consisted mainly of varied nuts and ingredients typically found in nut mixes. You can see their creation and all of the rest of the charity creations on display through the end of the year at Toots’ Cake & Candy, located at 314 East Main…

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Reasons To Buy Local This Holiday Season

December 05, 2018 | General

Online shopping sure is easy. Sit in front of your computer in your comfy clothes, click a few times, and the item arrives on your doorstep. But take a moment to think about the impact online shopping has on our community. Every time you “click” to shop, a local retailer suffers. Our local retailers rely on your walk-in business to survive. Without a continual stream of customers, we could potentially lose the small retailers who make our community unique. In recent years, shopping small has become a popular topic, especially around the holidays. American Express created the holiday, Small Business Saturday, in 2010 to support the small businesses that keep our nation running, occurring the Saturday immediately following the ever popular Black Friday. Additionally, the local economy suffers when you shop online. All local governments see a decrease in revenue every time…

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Purchase Your Ad for the 2018 Annual Report

December 03, 2018 | General

Each year, the Chamber’s Annual Report features highlights of Chamber accomplishments and events. The annual report includes information from each of our committees and the many events we hold throughout the year. In addition to your free listing on our online Member Directory, you also have the opportunity to advertise in this publication. This is a great way to promote your services and products to other Chamber members as well as to the general public. This full-color publication will be emailed to over 1,500 Chamber members as well as posted the whole year of 2019 on the Chamber’s website for viewing. There will also be paper copies in the Chamber office available upon request. If you are interested in taking part, you must fill out this Annual Report Advertising Contract, due to the Chamber no later than…

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