(Atlantic) The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated the success of the last two years at their annual dinner Saturday evening. The Chamber did not have a dinner at the beginning of 2021 due to COVID.
Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bailey Smith said at the beginning of the shutdown they launched a gift certificate stimulus campaign where community members purchased gift certificates from retailers that had to do a hard shut down so that the retailers had money in their pockets and shoppers could come back later when the business opened back up. That program ran for about six weeks and it grossed around $10,000.
In April, 2020, they launched a small business relief grant due to a generous donation of $10,000 by an anonymous donor and it was matched by First Whitney Bank, and with some other businesses and individuals donating they raised $28,000. They were able to give those funds to 16 businesses that had to shut down the months of March and April.
The Chamber continued their partnership with First Whitney Bank and did discount AtlanticCash and sold $25,000 in less than 20 minutes.
Smith said in the midst of all of the closures in 2020, they still welcomed 10 new businesses to the community, all of whom still have their doors open today.
In 2021, construction on the downtown façade project continued, which was started in 2019 but due to supply chain issues it was stalled for some time. Seven facades were completed thanks to a CDBG grant that paid for half of the project and then the city and building owners paid the other half.
The Chamber partnered with the City of Atlantic, ISU Extension, CADCO and Southwest Iowa Planning Council to implement a housing needs study. They have been collecting data on the true need for housing in Atlantic and all of that data should be ready in February and then the committee will move forward from there.
The Chamber also partnered with ISU Extension and Cass/Atlantic Development to launch round two of Leading Cass County, a leadership program that was started in 2019.
In 2021, they welcomed 11 new businesses to the community, and all of them are still open.
And, they again continued the discount AtlanticCash event…
Scott Bennett, Chamber President for 2021, said moving forward in 2022 they will continue working toward their strategic plan to help them continue their mission statement: Business Based, Community Minded, Partnerships, Outreach and Promotions. Bennett said they continue their support with new business development with a business start up fund created by Kent Hanson, current Board President.
Bennett also noted they have partnered with the Atlantic All Class Reunion to have live music and entertainment
during the Smackdown Golf Tournament in August and that will be open to the entire community. They are also partnering with the Cass County Grounds Committee to welcome the WHO Tractor Ride.
The Chamber is always looking for community members who would like to help volunteer at one of their many events. If you are interested in helping out, contact the Chamber.
