Calendar of Events

The Marion Chamber of Commerce cordially invites you to attend our 104th annual Awards Banquet and Auction. The event is scheduled for January 17th at The Pavilion in Marion.

EVENT ACTIVITIES

• Social Hour
• Wine & Spirit Pull
• Silent Auction (Preview Items)
• Award Celebration
• In Memoriam

REGISTRATION TICKETS: Table of 12: $840; Table of 8: $560 & Individual Tickets: $75 

DRESS CODE: Cocktail Attire

MENU

Marry Me Chicken - Creamy Garlic Sauce with Sundried Tomatoes and Basil
Rosemary Pork
Spinach Lasagna - Using our great Spinach Artichoke Dip as a starter, this lasagna is a great vegetarian dish, but everyone will like it too.  
Italian Roasted Potatoes  
Meatless Slow Cooked Green Beans - Slow cooked with new potatoes, seasoning and butter.  
Crystals Salad - Our Signature Salad: A fresh blend of mixed greens, fresh parmesan, candied pecans, red bell pepper, onion, and artichoke hearts in Crystal's homemade sweet vinaigrette  
Yeast Rolls - Sister Schubert's like homemade yeast rolls includes butter.  
Heath Bar Fudge Chocolate Cake  
Apple Crisp - Apples, crust, crunch and cinnamon-- just like Grandmas!

EVENT TIMELINE

• SOCIAL HOUR AT 5:30 pm
• DINNER AT 6:30 pm
• AWARDS CEREMONY 7:30 pm

In Memoriam: The Annual Dinner Committee honors those we have lost in the past year who have contributed to the Marion Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Marion area. The tribute will be played during the event. To submit an honoree, please call the Marion Chamber at 997.6311, or email director@marionillinois.com. 

HOUSEKEEPING Event tickets will need to be paid for when they are reserved. We encourage you to go ahead and reserve your tickets and tables now even if you don't know all the names of your attendees.  This ensures that you will get your place and we can enter the names at a later date.  If you need to make other arrangements, please contact the office. Any open balances will need to be paid by the day of the event or guests will not be able to attend. These new policies were put in place at the July 2023 Budget Committee Meeting due to concern about unpaid event registrations. If you need an invoice in advance, please contact the Chamber office: 618-997-6311. Tickets reservations can be changed through the Friday before the event. If your plans change the week of and you can't attend, we encourage you to send a co-worker or guest to represent your organization and network. Once we turn in our catering numbers, limited tickets will be available and refunds will not be issued.

This year's event will be on February 14th from 8 am to 11:30 am during a Marion High School half day. Students will be visiting the FBLA Career Fair during their PE period. We'll have 7 sessions of around 100 students each, each session will be about 25 minutes. 

Participant booths include an 8 ft table and 2 chairs. Electricity available.

Registration Deadline is February 10th. We encourage you to provide information to students about career options that support your industry, tips on filling out applications, learn how to dress professionally, career information, how to build professional social media contacts, and talk to business owners and leaders about job availability in our community.

To engage students, we encourage you to have giveaways for students (branded items, candy, etc.) or a raffle item to encourage student participation.

This event will also feature the MHS Entrepreneur Showcase, spotlighting student booths.

There is no cost to setup at this event, please register by February 7th. 

Join us for a fun and new event leading up to our Chamber Foundation's Friends For Life Graduation Spree. This year's Duck Spree will be on March, 11 2025 after the membership luncheon. Large and small glitter ducks will brave the hazards on the HUB's Lazy River in race heats for bragging rights and notoriety. Limited ducks will be available, so don't miss out on your favorite! 

Race Heats begin at 1:15.

Participation Options

• Jumbo Ducks: $100
• Mini Ducks $25

Sponsorship Options

• Raft Sponsor
• Decoy Sponsor
• Course Sponsor

Proceeds Go To... Friends For Life Graduation Spree is an overnight event to celebrate the graduation of the Marion High School seniors. The event has kept attendees safe for more than 35 years by offering a drug-free and alcohol-free environment for the graduating seniors to celebrate this milestone in their lives. Activities and entertainment are provided to each Marion High School graduate free-of-charge. We thank you for your participation!!

The Marion Chamber of Commerce is excited to bring back its annual professional development event, APOGEE, to Marion on June 12th, 2025. at .  This event will continue to inspire attendees with innovative speakers and engaging breakout sessions.  APOGEE begins at 9 am and concludes at 3 pm. Doors open at 8 am for registration.

Continuing Education Units will be provided by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce  

This live leadership development event will be hosted by Marion Chamber of Commerce and co-facilitated by Elizabeth Strusz and a new face to our stage!

TICKETS    

Individual - $99.00 (event value $300)
Table Rates - Table of 6 for $594.  (includes signage at table)
Student - $50. Sponsored opportunities available with valid student ID (please contact the office for more information or pre-register)      

TRAVELING TO MARION  
Thanks to our central location to various Midwest airports and a new direct flight to Chicago with Contour Airlines, our attendees can travel easily to enjoy this year's event.       

SPEAKERS - To be announced in Spring 2025

HOUSEKEEPING NOTES

As of October 1st 2023, event tickets will need to be paid for when they are reserved. If you need to make other arrangements, please contact the office. Registration and Payment Deadline is October 19th. Unpaid Invoices will not be allowed to attend. These new policies were put in place at the July 2023 Budget Committee Meeting due to concern about unpaid event registrations.    

When putting in your credit card information, please make sure your entered information matches what is on file! 

Tickets reservations can be changed through the Monday before the event. If your plans change the week of and you can't attend, we encourage you to send a co-worker or guest to represent your organization and network. Once we turn in our catering numbers on the 20th, limited tickets will be available and refunds will not be issued.