Chamber Corner: Survey and 150-year celebration

At our Chamber Banquet on April 1st, we had surveys on each placemat for those attending. Today, I want to share with you a couple of the questions and responses from that survey.

The first question was: what retail business would you like to see come to Walnut? We had a little over half of our attendees respond for a total of 55 votes. A pharmacy was the number one response, followed by a coffee shop and a brewery. Some of the other ideas listed were: upscale bar, upscale dining, laundry mat, and flower shop.

In my opinion, all great ideas and businesses that have a good chance of succeeding in our town. I can say that several of those ideas above have been looked into by different individuals/groups and are still being researched today. I’m not saying any will happen, but they are being looked into.

Another question we had was: Walnut’s 150-year celebration is coming in 2022. How should we recognize and celebrate this milestone in our community? The number one response was to put on 150 events during the year. Some of the other responses included: replicate the 1972 celebration, have a town-wide picnic and outdoor movie, and historical re-enactment.

I can tell you that the 150-year celebration is already in the beginning stages of being discussed. Not only are individuals and groups looking into how to celebrate it, but also how to get our town ready for that year.

The Liberty and Main project will be complete by then and projects are being discussed how to further “beautify” our Main Street. I can assure even the little details like flower boxes and garbage cans, for example, are not being overlooked.

The Chamber has discussed updating our Business banners that are displayed during the Spring/Summer, but at the same time want the “theme” of possible Main Street renovations to all match. The point is, things are happening and being discussed weekly.

We also welcome your ideas. If you have any thoughts or want to help in some way, let me know at director@walnutillinois.com.

Finally, I forgot to mention last week that I do want to thank Avanti Foods and Sisler’s for their donations of cheese spread and ice cream at our recent Banquet. We really appreciate it.

Also, the Chamber has a new President. Chris Von Holten has stepped down from that position, but remains on our Board. Brian Smith has been elected the new Chamber President for 2019. No doubt he will do a great job.

Have a great week and shop Walnut whenever you can.