Thursday, June 1, 2023
Since 1854 — News from Montcalm County and Ionia County, Michigan
The Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce recently hired Lisa Potter-Zylstra as its new part-time member and event coordinator.
A native of Dublin, Ireland, Potter-Zylstra lived in several of the great cities of Europe before moving to a home on Washington Street in Ionia seven years ago and falling in love with the town.
More than 100 members of the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce and their guests gathered last Saturday at Shadow Ridge Golf Course and Banquet Center for the Chamber’s annual celebration and awards dinner.
The event recognizes the local businesses, organizations and individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to making the Ionia area “a great place to live, work and play,” said Kat Hansen, the Chamber’s executive director.
With his office located in the heart of this community’s historic downtown district, Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paul Sischo is well aware of the importance of shopping locally.
Stepping out the front door of his office, all Sischo has to do is glance left or right down Lafayette Street to see a number of locally-owned businesses, whose owners and employees work to both make a profit and serve as a betterment to the local economy as a whole.
Nominations are open for Ionia County’s “networking event of the year,” the annual celebration and awards, where they honor some of the local individuals, businesses and organizations who work hard to make Ionia County the best it can be.
Hosted by the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce, the banquet will mark a return to normalcy.
Downtown Ionia will turn spooky on Thursday as the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Autumn Celebration from 5 to 8 p.m.
As they are each year, the streets will be full of families decked out in their Halloween finest as they enjoy all the activities that are part of this traditional event. The Autumn Celebration brings close to 6,000 people to the downtown area, according to Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kat Hansen.
Chamber of commerce members work together to help build a healthy economy and improve a community’s quality of life. To that end, the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce is adding another monthly networking platform to enable its members to connect with one another while learning more about each other’s services and resources.
An informal, informative legislative update meeting took place in a small boardroom inside the Ionia Michigan Works office on Monday.
The 50-minute gathering was facilitated by Steve Hodgkins and Kat Reed from the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce and was attended by about 15 people.
The second annual pitch competition, MIpitch, is returning to help spark change and entrepreneurial growth in Montcalm and Ionia counties.
Entrepreneurs, business owners, and dreamers living in Montcalm County or Ionia County will have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes at a Sept. 15 event at Candlestone Resort in Belding.
At the same time that broadband internet is making its way into Ionia County and improving access to high-speed connectivity — a draw for businesses and families who might want to relocate here — the area is also facing a severe housing shortage.
A possible future move of the VA Hospital from Battle Creek to Wyoming and Kalamazoo was among the topics of conversation at the Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce legislative update Monday morning at Keller Williams Rivertown Hoppough in Ionia.
Jennifer Ungrey from Rep. Peter Meijer’s office told attendees Meijer was surprised by the VA’s recent announcement. She said Meijer’s staff toured the facility last fall.
