Message From Our Director

WELCOME TO THE PARKS CHAMBER

Welcome to The Parks Chamber of Commerce.

Our mission is to help businesses succeed with the right tools, connections, and resources.

We're a public/private partnership that convenes business, nonprofit, elected, and municipal leaders to help attract people to live, visit, and invest in the City of Loves Park and Village of Machesney Park, Illinois.

We produce world-class signature events - including an Annual Meeting, Golf Outing, and Signature Event Series - to help connect our members to each other and the community.

We lead holistic Placemaking strategies to guide the growth and development of Districts into magnetic destinations for commerce and healthy living that will ultimately help attract people to live, visit, and invest in our Districts. We believe that the work of Placemaking is crucial during these challenging economic times, because it will equip our community with the infrastructure, incentives, and identity to thrive in the long-term.

We provide Red-Carpet Services for members and businesses investing in The Parks to include Ribbon-Cutting Ceremonies and Grand-Opening Celebrations.

We represent the business community, advocating for a competitive business climate and collaborating with elected leaders on strategies that support the retention and attraction of primary employers.

We collaborate with regional partners to provide free and confidential advising to business owners, operators, and entrepreneurs.

We document our members’ businesses online and promote them in official Directories at ParksChamber.com and 815OpenForBusiness.com. Chamber members can also publish Coupons, Press Releases, and Events directly to our websites.

The Parks Chamber is proud to be the first organization in the region to provide custom-built, search-engine-optimized, and mobile-responsive technology tools to help our members promote and sell their products and services online. If you think about it, chambers of commerce started as brick-and-mortar lobbies, where residents and visitors could research - in person or by phone - information about local businesses. In today’s digital economy, chambers need to offer innovative strategies for online promotion of our members.

More information about our chamber, the innovative technology tools we provide for members, our events, and more are highlighted throughout this website. We encourage you to learn more about our members’ products and services by viewing their listings in our Directory.

Thank you for this opportunity to serve you and the businesses within our region. If you're not a member of The Parks Chamber, we invite you to JOIN US TODAY!

Sincerely,

Duncan Geddes, Executive Director

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