The Warehouse on Park

Upgraded Chamber Members

CHAMBER MEMBERS UPGRADE MEMBERSHIPS TO SUPPORT STRUGGLING BUSINESSES

By: D.M. Herra

The Genoa business community is nothing if not tight knit. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many businesses to temporarily shut down or reduce operations in 2020. Some of those allowed to remain open suffered from a drop in business as shoppers cut back spending and hunkered down at home. Besides the disruption to regular business, the pandemic forced the cancelation of community events both the Chamber of Commerce and its members rely on. But not everyone was negatively impacted. Because of the closeness in the Genoa business community, some businesses untouched by the pandemic reached out a helping hand to those struggling. Six local businesses upgraded their membership in the Chamber of Commerce, providing a needed infusion of funds. “These upgraded members invested more money to help out and make sure everybody was covered,” Chamber Director Krissy Johnson said. “The extra financial support from those businesses that were not negatively impacted by the pandemic kept information flowing about any grants or business support coming available.” The support from event sponsors allowed the chamber to come up with some creative alternatives to its usual events. For example, after the socially distanced Jingle Bell Parade, Santa still visited with children in his house from behind a protective barrier. The new construction and home improvement industries flourished in 2020 as people stuck at home took a fresh look at their living space. The Illinois Realtors Association reported new home sales in 2020 were the strongest in years. Nationwide, hardware stores sold $10 billion more in 2020 than they had in 2019. Not surprisingly, then, half of the Genoa chamber’s upgraded members are in the home industry. Homebuilder By Grainger, roofing and siding company Crown Exteriors, and longtime community pillar Tobinson’s ACE Hardware all stepped up with increased memberships. While restaurants and cafes were fully or partially shut down, OpenDoor Coffee was able to continue serving customers via a food truck model, Johnson said. Retailer Liquor n’ Wine also stepped up its contribution – in the state of Illinois, people continued to buy packaged alcohol to drink at home while bars were shut down. The city of Genoa also did what it could to support the business community in 2020. It upgraded its chamber membership and provided electrostatic sprayers to help businesses clean and sanitize.

City of Genoa City government Visit in person: 333 E. First St. Visit online: www.genoa-il.com