The year has gotten off to a great start!
At the end of February, the Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated our members at the 67th annual Meeting and Awards Dinner.
We discussed making connections and forging the future together. We voted in our new Board of Directors including Karl Gallagher with Century 21, New Heritage and Carol Romano with Resource Bank. Our new executive committee including Michaela Menzies with First Midwest Bank, Linda Peterson with Compeer Financial as Vice President and Treasurer Melissa Davidson of Davidson Pargman and Company. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Genoa!
This warm weather has the Genoa Area Chamber feeling ready for the spring season!
We are hosting our Hometown Expo & Family Fair, this Saturday, March 16 at Genoa-Kingston High School, 980 Park Ave. We hope you and your entire family will join us and enjoy some of what the Genoa area has to offer! Come and check out some of our amazing small businesses, organizations, industries and restaurants at this one-day event, all under one roof! More than 50 vendors will be highlighting their businesses and giving away lots of great stuff!
The Hometown Expo is free to enter and fun for the entire family! Grab some treats from Latsis Bakery, Sweet De-Lights, Keep it Poppin, Sweet Swirl Cotton Candy and more! Let the kids enjoy the exhibitions by the Inventors Lab hosted by the Genoa Public Library and Custom Aluminum. Get some energy out with the Genoa Park District and Fitness Center, or toss a disc at the disc golf with the Kishwaukee Valley Wanderers. Many businesses will be there for you to connect with and giving you a chance to win great prizes at our raffle. We hope to see you from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Home & Business Expo.
To find out more about the Expo visit our website at www.genoaareachamber.com. We hope to see you this year at the 2024 Hometown Expo & Family Fair.
In May, the Kishwaukee Valley Wanderers will be hosting the 3rd annual Egg-apalooza! The Genoa Area Challenging Egg Hunt will begin at 0 a.m. on Saturday, April 27. Eggs will be hidden at specific locations in Genoa. The hunt continues until the last egg is found. Eggs will be hidden in difficult-to-find locations. Find an egg, locate the number inside the egg and claim your prize. Prizes are donated by local businesses, families and organizations. There will also be face painting and family fun events starting at 10 a.m. at Carroll Memorial Park. Visit www.facebook.com/KVWanderers to find information about the event. Join us for an egg-citing event!
In June we will continue our small-town traditions with the Genoa Days King and Queen Scholarship contest.
The Chamber and member businesses recognize the importance of education as well as the increasing costs that come with it. One of the ways we support our students and future leaders is by providing a scholarship contest opportunity open to ALL graduating seniors.
All seniors at G-K High School, home-schooled and parochial school students that would fall within the Genoa-Kingston School District are eligible to apply for the scholarship. The application can be found on our website, www.genoaareachamber.com. To be considered, candidates need to complete an application and submit it on or before April 19 to the High School Guidance Office or The Chamber of Commerce office, 113 N. Genoa St. Unit B. All completed applications will be reviewed and finalists will be notified.
The finalists will then compete in a final judging that will take place from 6 to 7:45 p.m. on the first evening of Genoa Days Wednesday, June 5 at Heartland Bank. The event will culminate at 8 p.m. on the main stage in downtown Genoa where our 2024 Genoa Days King and Queen will be announced and each will be awarded $1,000.
Don’t miss out on all events and business activities all year long by subscribing to our newsletter. To sign up go to genoaareachamber.com and click on “Newsletter Sign Up.” Newsletters go out every Monday.
The Genoa Chamber continues to grow and would love to have you grow with us! We would be happy to tell you about our upcoming events, chamber membership and sponsorship opportunities. Call us today at 815-784-2212 or email info@genoaareachamber.com to make an appointment with Krissy or Emily. We are here to serve you and to spotlight your growing business! We can’t wait to see you out Exploring Genoa!
- Krissy Johnson is the executive director of the Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce.