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A Weekly Note from Mayor Gary L. Graham
“Traditional Values, Progressive Thinking”
The O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce and The O’Fallon Progress 34th Annual “Salute to Business” Awards luncheon will be held on Friday, April 23, 2010 at the Regency Conference Center, 400 Regency Park Drive in O’Fallon. Registration for the event begins at 11:15 a.m. and the program will begin at 11:45 a.m.
Ken Diel, President of the Board of Directors, will preside at the awards ceremony and will install Rick Parks from Centrue Bank as the incoming President, Paul Evans from Evans Law Firm as the incoming Vice President, and Doug Distler from First Bank as the Treasurer. Other board members will also be installed during the event. In addition, the Ambassador of the Year and the Ambassador Impact Awards will be presented.
Ken has been a tremendous leader as the President of the O’Fallon-Shiloh Chamber of Commerce for the past two years. The Chamber has grown in membership under his direction and has added several new programs that benefit our businesses and our community. Ken’s hard work and dedication to the community is second to none.
Businesses that will be honored this year include Vetta Sports for Business Beautification, Newbold Toyota BMW for Economic Impact, and The Ginger Shop and Brad McMilllin, Inc. for Overall Business.
Vetta Sports
Vetta Sports opened a new indoor soccer facility in O'Fallon in November 2009. The new facility is located at 590 Hartman Lane.~ Vetta Sports offers two state of the art indoor soccer fields with the latest in indoor field turf that looks, feels, and plays, just like outdoor grass.~ They offer soccer leagues for adults and youth of all skill levels, instructional classes for kids 2-14, inflatable birthday parties, summer camps, flag football leagues, and lacrosse programs. Vetta Sports rennovated the old Way to Play building and we are very pleased that they chose O’Fallon when they expanded their business. They did a tremendous job with the beautification of the building and surrounding area, and have added a wonderful facility for our residents to enjoy.
Newbold BMW
In the late 1980’s Kent Newbold took ownership of the Toyota dealership in Belleville and in 1987, the BWM franchise was added to the dealership. In 1998, he constructed a 29,000 square foot facility at 1282 Central Park Drive in O’Fallon and moved his dealership to that location. Both Toyota and BMW automobiles were housed at the new location. On July 1, 2007, he completed the new BMW facility across the street at 1283 Central Park Drive and moved the BMW automobiles to the new location. In late December 2008, he completed an additional 8,000 square foot addition to the Toyota facility. This dealership has been a welcome addition to our community for many years and has played a strong and vital role in our local economy. Kent is highly commended for his continued capital investment in our
community.
The Ginger Shop
Ginger Kammler, owner of The Ginger Shop, has been in the antiques and consignment business for approximately 30 years. She started out by going to yard sales and then auctions. Ginger eventually started hosting her own yard sales and through time, began setting up booths in antique malls and flea markets. In 2005, she razed the building at 108 West State Street in Downtown O’Fallon and built a new building that blends well with the surrounding architecture. Her store, named The Ginger Shop, sells many unique items, including antiques, and is a great place to purchase that unusual gift. Over the past five years, Ginger has made a significant investment of her time and money in our downtown area and her shop continues to be a welcome part of our thriving downtown.
Brad McMillin, Inc.
Brad McMillin began his Beltone career in Southern Illinois in 1981. In 1986, he came to O’Fallon and opened his first Belton dispensership, purchasing the office building at 1415 West Highway 50 in 1987. In 1993 Brad purchased the Western Sizzlin’ at 1411 West Highway 50 as well as the adjacent property. He owned and operated the restaurant from 1993-2004. In 1997, he built the Econo Lodge on the adjacent property. In 2004, Brad continued to develop and expand real estate as an investment, constructing and opening the current strip center at 1407 West Highway 50. The O’Fallon Beltone corporate office was also rebuilt at this site. Brad continues to own and lease out various properties in the O’Fallon area. In 2006, he purchased and began restoration of the Idle Hour
building at 102/104 South Cherry. His goal was to restore the building back to its original look and that the integrity of the building was maintained in efforts to enhance the downtown area. Brad has invested in our community for over 20 years and has proven many times over his commitment to economic development in O’Fallon.
Congratulations to our business award winners. You have each played a vital role in the development and sustainability of our community and it is a real honor that each of you chose O’Fallon as the location for your business. I look forward to many more years of working with you to make O’Fallon the best city in the Metro East.
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