‘Built with heart’: Chamber unveils new tagline, logo during annual banquet

The Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce unveiled a new tagline and a fresh new look during the annual banquet on Thursday, Jan. 24.

The Chamber began brainstorming new taglines in August 2018. It wasn't until Kristi Ray, executive vice president for the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance, witnessed the community pull together the day before the Midwest Old Threshers Reunion to repair damage to the town after a storm that she knew they had landed on one that fit perfectly: Built with heart.

'Is it truly strong enough?” Ray questioned about the possible new tagline. 'Does it talk about the resilience of this community? … (After the storm) I looked at the town and thought, ‘It doesn't matter if we're building or we're rebuilding, this town does it with heart.'”

The Chamber also launched new website at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday with a new address. You can find the Chamber at www.mpiowa.org.

'We are thrilled with this new site and we hope you will find it helpful,” Ray said. 'You can find everything about Mt. Pleasant, Henry County, the Chamber of Commerce, (the Area Development Commission), Main Street and so much more.”

New email addresses for the Chamber staff will be coming next week, Ray said.

The new tagline and look was designed to encompass everything that makes Mt. Pleasant special, acknowledges its history and roots without seeming old-fashioned, recognizes the importance of manufacturing and appeals to people, particularly young families considering Mt. Pleasant for their new home, Ray said.

'There is pride in what we produce in our history, our people and our community,” Ray said. 'This brand has its own personality. It is reassuring, positive, warm, feel-good, yet strong. As one board member put it, it would look great on a beer bottle.”

As the Chamber celebrated their success in 2018 during the annual banquet, they kept their eyes focused on the future.

In 2018, the Chamber held 29 ribbon cuttings for new members, companies and achievements; welcomed 19 new members; and worked with 10 existing companies and four prospective companies with plans to open or expand in Henry County, former Chamber board president Robb Gardner said.

The Chamber has $246,504 in assets, $50,869 in liabilities and $195,635 in equity. There are 352 members.

The city issued 82 building permits totaling $19.7 million in evaluation, said Mayor Steve Brimhall, speaking as the president of the Area Development Commission (ADC).

'That's important for me as mayor because it's a whole lot easier to balance the budget when the city is growing,” Brimhall said.

The companies that expanded brought an additional 367 jobs to Henry County, which is why the ADC feels so strongly about retaining and growing existing companies, Brimhall said.

The ADC is concentrated on supporting businesses that are already in town. Brimhall said that employees are hard to come by these days, so they will support established businesses until there is an oversupply of people and more jobs are needed.

Gardner passed the gavel to David George, with Edward Jones, who will serve as the 2019 president of the Chamber board.

George said that housing and child care will continue to be a top priority for the Chamber by attracting private developers to address those needs.

The Chamber will also continue to work with the school districts to 'bridge the skills gap” to help students understand what jobs are available to them in Henry County. They will also promote more careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), George said.

The Chamber will continue to work side by side with IW for a 'bright future,” George said.

Overall, George said the Chamber is dedicated to strengthening the southeast Iowa region by working to develop communities with a stronger regional approach.

George moved to Mt. Pleasant with his wife 15 years ago. 'This is our home. We choose to be here. We believe in this community and the people. I'm amazed every day how this community pulls together,” he said.

George encouraged his fellow Chamber members to think of their neighbors as collaborators, not competitirs.

'For us to thrive in the future, we have to work together,” George said.