Each month we highlight one of the chamber members as our Ambassadors Chamber Member of the Month. This nice little recognition started a few years ago and it is such a fun little way to thank our chamber members for their contributions to our organization and our community.
With some help of our Ambassadors, we decided to really make it a way for us to highlight our members in a more focused way. We try to connect our recognition with something that is happening in our community that month. Normally, we stop in and meet the chamber member, take some photos and when we have a willing member, we do a social media video that lets the member explain their business and lets people get to know them better. We then invite people to stop out and meet the business for themselves. As a little added touch, we leave the Chamber of Commerce “Cookie Jar” at the business and people can put their name in for a drawing for the lucky businesses. As with everything else, COVID-19 has offered us limitations to the way we are doing this. We have been creative but we have not been able to do the “push” like we once did.
I wanted to take some time to recognize some chamber members you may have not seen recognized in the last few months. In April we recognized the Monroe Clinic SSM Health. At that time, we were seeing all medical facilities preparing for what was to come. We were not able to stop in and visit but I was happy to drop off the cookie and share our thanks to the staff for all they do to keep us safe.
In May I made a stop to visit Marc Blanc and his busy employees at Car Quest. They are located on Monroe’s west side and they keep our community running.
They offer a retail location for automotive parts as well as offering wholesale options to supply our other businesses in the region.
In June we paid a visit to Regez Supply. This was actually our first member that we included our ambassador to join in. Brian Einbeck explained that this family businesses opened in 1915, Regez Supply Co. has been the area’s trusted supplier for over 100 years. With its origin in the cheese processing and manufacturing, they have grown to be a trusted business for many local businesses as well as a resource for the essential personal protection equipment needed during the pandemic.
Last week, we made our most recent stop. Amy’s Corner Café is a seven day a week breakfast and lunch destination. With a long legacy behind her, Amy Harkrider has continued to provide Monrovians a safe, clean, friendly and delicious meal. Amy is located just south of the historic Square across form the Spring Alley parking lot.
The visual support may have taken a new look for now but we could not thank our members enough for everything they do for us. We are fortunate to live in a community of business owners that take what they do so seriously and have been there for us as we maneuver through the pandemic that we are facing.
I hope that we continue to support our business owners as they are doing what they can to ensure safety, an opportunity for employees to maintain their careers and provide essential services that we rely on daily.
If you would like to learn more about any of the businesses I mentioned, feel free to review their profiles on our website monroechamber.org. You can click on the news and events tab to see information about them and any of our previous chamber members of the month. As always, I welcome you to call or stop in our office.
— Melissa Even is the executive director for the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at melissa@monroechamber.org.
