What Has The Chamber Done To Add Value To Our Community?

In many cases, the chamber tackles issues and projects without much fanfare. Often the community has little overall knowledge of everything they are working on or even what they do.  In addition to the many tangible and intangible benefits addressed in the other two Q&A's, there are many specific initiatives the McDonald County Chamber has been up to over the past few years.  Here are a few of them:

1)  Expanded our board from 8 to 19 members better allowing us to serve and represent ALL areas of McDonald County.

2)  Expanded their membership from about 60 paying members to 275 members.

3)  Maintain one of the lower membership dues structures in the region. Additionally, haven’t had to increase dues in five years.

4)  Created 10 Committees that deal with various County issues. Those include legislative, economic development, events, marketing, and many others.

5)  Spearheaded the Work-Ready Designation for the County. This statewide program leads to enhanced job opportunities and potential new projects.

6)  Led a countywide  effort on obtaining our most recent “Opportunity Zone” which opens doors for additional private investment in the County.

7)  Chamber team worked hard on educating the County on the Use Tax. The tax passed on the first attempt and is now bringing in approximately 1.5 million in new revenues to the County.

8)  Purchased a Building, Renovated it, and created the McDonald County Business & Entrepreneurial Center.  This entire project was completed on a very frugal materials budget and through long hours donated by volunteers.

9)  Created the yearly Future of the County luncheon to discuss what is coming in terms of new projects and innovations that will grow the vibrancy of McDonald County.

10)  Working with County to grow Tourism which in turn grows or increases our Sales Tax Revenue that funds most of the county services.

11)  Working on the best ways to enhance and Improve the Safety for the locals and tourists alike on the water and other activities that bring tourism to the County.

12)  Built a Newsletter informing readers of not just Chamber happenings, but other events around the county.

13)  Built a new Texting Database to inform members and residents alike of important events coming in the County.

14)  Holds yearly Job Fairs, held two in Noel a few weeks apart after Tyson had announced their closing.  These efforts assisted many in landing new jobs, most before the final plant closing.

15)  Assist communities with grant writing – obtained a $250,000 Grant for the city of Noel.

16)  Run nearly continuous “Shop Local” campaigns to encouraging support of all our local businesses.

17)  Rebuilt our Chamber website. (Undergoing another revamp in late 2026-27)

18)  Added and update a Job board, Event Calendar, and Real Estate listings to website.

19)  Beginning in 2027, will be linking event calendars across the County allowing businesses and organizations to share their events across the entire County.

20)  Works with the State to Assist members in obtaining Deeply Discounted Healthcare options.

21)  Began the 2026 McDonald County Leadership Class that trains and assists our county leaders of tomorrow.

22)  Created the most trusted and widely distributed tourism magazine “Ozarks Rocks” in the entire region.

23)  Led the massive effort in launching the Tri-State Marketing & Tourism Alliance to better promote over 30 of the smaller chambers throughout the Ozarks region. No longer do the smaller communities need take a backseat to the larger communities when it comes to marketing and exposure.

24)  Applied for and received a $50K T-Mobile grant used to remodel the McDonald County Student Chamber Coffee Shop which trains students at an early age many of the facets of running a business.

25)  One of the smallest Counties in the state to obtain their Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) designation opening new opportunities to promote the County far beyond its boundaries. Our Chamber funds between 60-70% of the total cost as compared to most communities and chambers that are funded by government at an average of 93% with the chamber kicking in only 7%.

26)  Hold over 50 Networking events each year to bring business owners together in various venues. These include, but aren’t limited to banquets, ribbon-cuttings, expos, and more.

27)  Only Chamber in the region to provide a Free Monthly Lunch-n-Learn that provides training, updates, and business tips to their members. Some of these topics include; Marketing, AI, Cybersecurity, Investing, Legal, Local Non-profits, and so much more.

28)  Provide a FREE Business Evaluation and/or Personalized Marketing & Strategic best practices reports.

29)  Building the first-ever McDonald County Tourism website which should be completed by launched no later than January 2027.

30). Work with many non-profits to assist with planning, marketing plans and strategic vision for their future. This included grant assistance and resource information and advice.

31) Work with NFIB (National Federation of Independent Businesses) to monitor and report critical issues to our members. This saves our businesses time and money on occasions throughout the year.

There are additional items and initiatives we have undertaken over the past 2-3 years, but the above provide a small view into initiatives we are involved in.