It goes without saying that our community is facing a way of life we never anticipated. Through all of the changes we have encountered in the last several weeks, we are seeing the great and not so great in the world. 

I am so happy to be able to say that from what I see in and around Monroe, the greatness is far outweighing the not so great that we hear in the news. Every day, it seems we are seeing local businesses reaching out to help each other and volunteer organizations finding personal and financial resources to help our essential businesses and employees stay safe and healthy. 

I can’t say enough about the Green County Health Department’s leadership in putting out the vital information needed to make sure our community stays informed healthy and safe. Our local law enforcement and EMS services are adjusting just as rapidly as we are expected to. To all of them, I say thank you. 

Each business owner in our community is doing the very best they can to take care of their employees, their customers and their partners. Everyone is taking the needs of our society as a whole as they prioritize. Among the long list of concerns I have been hearing from business owners, the very last thing on their list is their personal needs. I again must say this is not what we see globally. Local businesses are committed to their community. Manufacturers are lending resources or completely changing their business practices to assist in keeping everyone safe. We see this throughout Wisconsin and specifically Monroe.

We may not know all the information business owners are dealing with as they attempt to navigate through this time of uncertainty. I know there is a lot of head scratching coming from all us with regards to why things are going the way they are. 

As a member of the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Executives, I am proud The Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce have written to Governor Evers to take action on setting a plan in place that will do just that. 

For businesses that have been forced to close their doors and cease operations, a clear and guided time line is vital to their ability to recover the financial losses, call back employees, purchase inventory and implement any needed changes that they will need to continue doing as we move forward. 

In our role to promote businesses, we worked hard to come up with an alternative to holding our traditional State Line Home and Business Expo. For obvious reasons, we had to cancel that event and look forward to holding it April 3-4, 2021. In our “Safer at Home” order we are trying to engage our community and offer them some activities that will give them something to look forward to, keep them active and help them learn more about our chamber members. 

We created the Safer at Home Community Challenge: Each Monday in April we announce a challenge on our website and on Facebook. The challenges are all home improvement related. Week one, was “April Flowers Bring My Flowers” We asked people to show us photos of their before and after yard projects. We were happy that Colony Brands had agreed to let us use some of its home goods product as prizes for the challenges. We also listed 2-3 businesses that were featured in that week’s challenge. 

Please check in each Monday morning in April to find out what each week’s challenge is, who our featured businesses are and maybe get a little inspiration for your own projects. We hope you enjoy the activities that are designed to keep you “Safer at Home” and creating an outlet for your creativity or weakening your procrastination. If you have any questions about the Safer at Home Community Challenge, the businesses that are featured or how to participate, contact us at 608-325-7648.

Please stay safe and stay healthy. I look forward to enjoying your company soon! 

— Melissa Even is the executive director for the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at melissa@monroechamber.org.