Monthly Newsletters

Summer Vacation is Here!Summer Vacation is Here!

So long rainy days (right?) and hello Summer! With school out, many of us will be seeing influxes of children tagging along on errands and we’ll finally see some of those elusive teachers who are out on parole!

Thank you to Illinois Tourism South for an interesting presentation on all of the great marketing they can provide at no cost to Southern Illinois members - check them out! Thank you also to Reinhardt’s for hosting that Quarterly Meeting.

Congratulations to our two ribbon cutting businesses, Happy Days and Shad & Co!

In June, we have a Ribbon Cutting and Business After Hours at Country Financial’s new location.

On July 9, IGA is sponsoring a Member Meet Up during a Gateway Grizzlies game! Space is limited in the suite, so please reach out to AJ Scharf to reserve your spot.

We know there are plenty of great businesses to help celebrate Dad this month, so be sure to stop by them! 

May is Here!

April was a month of transition. Although the rain made it hard at times to remember we’re starting Spring, the blooms have helped us remember that warm weather is coming!

Thanks to all of you and our community, the Chamber was able to donate $3,000 to the Millpine Derby from the 50/50 and day proceeds to the Millpine Derby’s mission to help our schools with food distribution.

In May, we will be having an exciting Quarterly Meeting at Reinhardt’s with Downstate Illinois Tourism. Networking will start at 5 p.m. and their presentation will start at 6 p.m. - you don’t want to miss it! 

In June, we will have a Ribbon Cutting and Business After Hours at Country Financial’s new location 

We also want to congratulate Happy Days on their re-opening and wish them luck on their first season! 

Business is Blooming!

We had the Luck of the Irish with us on our 2025 Leprechaun Crawl!

A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported the event, our bars/restaurants, and Millpond Brewing's charity, A Giving Place.

We had over 300 people register for the event. And thanks to you, we raised over $2,000.00 for Millpond's A Giving Place that works to end childhood hunger in Millstadt through providing funds for lunches for our schools. Thank you to the participating businesses, their staff, raffles donors, and all of the volunteers who made this event happen! Please see a full list of businesses and donors later in the newsletter.

We also thank Sundi Davis of Sunniday Images for hosting the Chamber at her photography studio at our March Business After Hours. Sundi talked to us about the importance of physical photos and showed some amazing portraits and large wall hangings she helps create.

We will not have a meeting in April, but we are looking forward to our upcoming events in May and June. Enjoy the beginning of Spring and the many community events that are happening this month.

Happy Easter!

Spring is on the Way!!!

We had an amazing Quarterly Meeting at Millpond with Bryan Schubert and Sister Cities’ John Baltz and Otto Faulbaum where we learned about the history of their famous Dunkes Bier collaboration.

We also had the honor of officially welcoming LeAnn Henry and Ultimate Tax Services to town. Thank you to everyone who came out! We have our Leprechaun crawl coming this weekend, Saturday March 8. Registration and Golf Cart Judging will start at 12 p.m. at the Millstadt VFW. Registration is $10 and shirts will be available for purchase.

The event will run until 5 p.m. with raffle drawings at 5 p.m. in the green space between Ott’s and Spike’s. You must register to be eligible for raffle items.

Separate raffles will be held for the Barrel of Booze and the 50/50 which will benefit the Millpine’s Derby to end childhood hunger in Millstadt.

Thank you again to all of our donors! Welcome to our newest members,

The Donut Den - a mobile donut stand.

Our next Business After Hours is with Sundi Davis at Sunniday Images on March 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with the presentation starting at 6 p.m.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Some people say that January is like a month of Mondays... Thank goodness we made it through! Thank you to everyone who came out to the Annual Dinner. It is always such a great event to put on and gives us all an excuse to dress up and catch up with one another. We also honor some amazing members of our Chamber with awards.

Congratulations to our winners; Phyllis Schaefer, Terry Davinroy and Ott’s Tavern/Millstadt Fish Stand, and Randy Eckert. This was also the first year that the Millstadt Historical Society presented their Landmark Award and those winners were Rene and Mike Mauck.

Welcome to our newest members, Chris and Kait Real Estate and Happy Days Ice Cream - under new owners. Our next Quarterly Meeting is with Bryan Schubert at Millpond on February 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with the presentation starting at 6 p.m. We also have a Ribbon Cutting for Ultimate Tax Service on Wednesday, February 26 at 1 p.m.

Thank you to everyone who has also donated to the Upcoming Leprechaun Crawl. More information on the event and how to be involved can be found further in the newsletter. Happy Valentine’s Day! 

Happy New Year!

With Christmas holidays and the New Year upon us, it’s time to get back to work! (Although these snow days are making it difficult!)

 Angie and Scott Mueller of Millstadt Carpet and Home hosted the Chamber for the December Business After Hours where we had a tour of the building and learned more about their business.  They not only do flooring, but remodels, additions, and more. Thank you for having us!

Later in December, we paid a surprise visit to congratulate and thank Kayla and Audrey Beyer on their closing of the brick and mortar, Rae and James, and transitioning to an online focus.

Thank you to everyone who submitted Annual Directory ads - it was the most we’ve had yet! We also appreciate the nominations for Person and Business of the Year as well as our Legacy award.

Also, a special welcome to our new members, Empire Auto Sales and Romero’s Home Inspections.

Be sure to set a reminder for our next Quarterly Meeting at with Bryan Schubert at Millpond February 19, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. with the presentation starting at 6 p.m.

We’ll see you all at our Annual Dinner this coming Wednesday, January 15. The event starts at 5 p.m. for mingling and dinner starts at 6 p.m. Awards and networking start at 7 p.m.

We hope your Thanksgiving was filled with friends, family, and great food! Thank you to Becky DeMond and Erin Newton for presenting about current real estate challenges in Millstadt at our recent Quarterly Meeting. Thank you also to everyone who made our 2nd An Olde Village Christmas such a success! Without the wonderful volunteers, organizations, local businesses, and small vendors, we would not have been able to host this community event. Please remember to send in your ads for the Annual Directory by Friday, December 13. You do not want to miss this opportunity to reach thousands of Millstadt residents! 

Also, it’s Membership Renewal time! If you renew your membership to the Chamber by the Annual Dinner, you and a plus-one will enjoy dinner at no cost. Please be sure to RSVP for the Annual Dinner by January 3. 

Be sure to also send in your Chamber Person of the Year, Business of the Year Award, and Legacy Award nominees. 

Welcome to our newest members, SHAD & Co. Studio, B&B Custom Concrete, Reinhardt’s LLC, and Stitched Metalworks LLC. Be sure to join us for our Business After Hours at Millstadt Carpet 

December 18, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

And the Holidays keep Coming! We hope you all had a Happy Halloween! The Witches Night Out was a spooktastic event that so many of our Chamber Businesses organized.  Thank you to all of our businesses and organizations who participated in our Fall Light Pole Decorating Contest! Everyone did such a fantastic job! Congratulations to Scharf Building Services for taking home another win this year.  Thank you also to everyone who has sent in their updated contact information. Please remember to do so and to include your ad for the Annual Directory, the deadline is coming quick!  Welcome to our newest members, the Sandra M. Bereitschaft Meals on Wheels Foundation, Ultimate Tax Service, The LaCroix Group - Strano & Assoc., and Dixie Grace Candle Company! We loved being able to host a ribbon cutting for Dixie Grace. Be sure to join us for our Quarterly Meeting: Becky DeMond ReMax talks Real Estate at the Columbus Club November 20, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Olde Village Christmas (November 29, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.) is also coming quick! If you would like to have a vendor spot to highlight your business or organization or would like to sponsor one of our wish list items, please contact us! We’ll see you at our upcoming events and Happy Thanksgiving!Description goes here

Happy Fall Y’All!

Another great month down, another great month ahead!!! A huge thank you to Tina and Dan Doerr of Industrial Tools and Machinery for hosting our September Business After Hours. It was a great education on tools and machines. How neat it is to have companies in our town that fulfill needs globally!

We’re excited to see the light poles being decorated for our Fall Light Pole Decorating which is themed Movie Monsters Down the Way. Thank you to everyone who is participating!

Be sure to mark your calendar for our Quarterly Meeting: Becky DeMond ReMax talks Real Estate at the Columbus Club November 20, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Our Olde Village Christmas is also coming up, right after the Lighted Christmas Parade on November 29. The parade is starting an hour earlier, at 6 p.m. and our event will run 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. If you would like to join as a vendor, please contact Nichole Lauko at 618-719-5032 or n.lauko.millstadtlib@gmail.com

Last Days of Summer!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 3rd Annual Summer Social! It was a great success and we’re already looking forward to next year’s! Thank you also to everyone who was able to help the team of volunteers with the Millstadt VFW Revitalization. There are a few odds and ends to be done, it looks great! The Gateway Grizzlies didn’t disappoint, especially the seats! Thank you Millstadt IGA for hosting August’s After Hours. Be sure to mark your calendar for our next After Hours event: Industrial Tools and Machinery September 18 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. We’re on the final stretch of Summer! Which (or should we say “Witch”) means the Fall Light Pole Decorating Contest is coming quick! This year’s theme are Movie Monsters, think of the classics like Frankenstein, the Mummy, and Dracula. Poles will be assigned first come first serve. Please email us to secure your spot and read the flier below for more information. Enjoy the rest of Summer!

Back to School and Back to Business!

The busy of Summer Break will turn into the busy of Back to School! So be sure to update your calendars for these upcoming events! - Rott N’ K9 Ribbon Cutting August 9 at 10:45 a.m. - Summer Social August 11 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. - After Hours Event Gateway Grizzlies presented by Millstadt IGA August 21, game starts at 6:30 p.m. - After Hours Event Industrial Tools and Machinery September 18 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Summer Social is coming fast! We’ve got a helicopter, many businesses offering tons of games, and food and drinks! It will be a great way to kick off the start of school. We’ll see you at one of our many events!

Happy Independence Day!

We hope you’re enjoying the summer Thank you to Pour Decisions, Spike’s Public Thank you also to the many hands helping to Our next event is the Summer Social on Sunday, Have a fantastic rest of your summer and we’ll weather - heat and all! House, Ott’s Tavern/Fish Stand, and Millpond Brewing for hosting the Chamber for their Tasting Tour of Millstadt. We had a wonderful time sampling some beverages and appetizers at each location. revitalize the VFW. Everything from tear down and prep to paint and drywall. It is an essential job that is being completed and we’re all excited to see the changes! August 11 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Be sure to either contact Kayla Beyer to sign up for a booth or mark your calendars to make sure you can come out. see you at the Summer Social!Description goes here

School’s Out for Summer!

We’ve made it through the school year! Now we’re on to the bustle of Summer - vacations, yard work, and cicadas! Thank you to Otto Faulbaum and Ashley Reeder for a great information session at our May Quarterly. We are all now looking at our insurance policies! We’ve really made some progress at the Millstadt VFW as well. New landscaping has been planted and the walls have been prepped for painting and new paneling. We were even invited out to be the speaker at the VFW’s Memorial Day Service. Be sure to reach out to AJ Scharf if you would like to volunteer or contribute to the effort! Now is the time to start planning for the Summer Social. Be sure to contact Kayla Beyer to reserve your spot for this great community event. We hope you all will make time for our next After Hours - a Tasting Tour of Millstadt! We’ll park at Central Bank, then walk to Pour Decisions, Ott’s, Spikes, and Millpond!