05/30/2026
of the Chamber President & CEO, Katie Koester
Confession time: I took exactly zero photos this week.
Apparently, I’ve fallen out of my selfie era. Luckily, I work with some pretty great people, so I’m sharing a few photos from our recent Golf Outing instead. It truly takes a team to keep the Chamber moving, and Becky and Nicole are two of the best. We're also excited to have Nora on board for the summer and are looking forward to welcoming Jenny in just a couple of weeks!
MONDAY – Our office was closed in observance of Memorial Day.
TUESDAY – Effingham Illinois Sunrise Rotary to start the day, followed by a surprisingly quiet office day. Post-holiday weeks don't always fill up the calendar, and honestly, I wasn't mad about it. While meetings were light, Nora was ready to hit the ground running and spent time filming content and gathering footage for upcoming Chamber projects.
WEDNESDAY – Bright and early with our Chamber Ambassadors. This group of volunteers does so much behind the scenes to support our events, programs, and members throughout the year. We followed that with a staff meeting to make sure everyone was on the same page, then a Zoom meeting with our Women in Business Committee to finalize plans for our next event on June 25th at 7:00 AM at Pinky's. More details coming soon!
THURSDAY – Started the day with coffee at Joe Sippers Cafe alongside some of the wonderful ladies from the The City of Effingham and Visit Effingham. It's always great to brainstorm, collaborate, and share ideas. Over lunch, the Effingham Regional Growth Alliance Board met at Koerner Distributor, Inc. and heard an update from Ameren Illinois. And thanks to having a young intern around, there was plenty more content filming happening. Do I know what this means? Kind of. I also had a great conversation with Geno from Lucia's Italian Kitchen… another Effingham gem!
FRIDAY – Another office day, which was much needed as I prepare to be away next week attending the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management (IOM) program. I did sneak away for lunch at Gopher's Grill with Stepheny from the Tuscola Chamber of Commerce. One of my favorite things about Chamber work is connecting with other Chamber professionals and swapping ideas.
THIS WEEKEND – Get out and support local! Whether it's grabbing a meal or drink, shopping in a local boutique, visiting a Chamber member business, or attending a local event, your support makes a difference.
And if you're one of those people who keeps saying, "I really should join the Chamber someday..." consider this your sign.
