The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet was held Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. The 96th Annual Banquet, which serves as an annual meeting for Chamber members, was held at the St. Joseph Civic Arena and was presented by Commerce Bank. More than 800 attended the event, which had a James Bond theme of “Casino Royale: An Evening in Monte Carlo.”

                The Civic Arena was decorated to fit the theme. The Griffey School for the Arts and the Dance Arts Center provided entertainment and gaming tables were provided by Moila Wrecking Crew. The evening was emceed by James Bond, as portrayed by Jeremy Eaton of the Griffey School for the Arts.

                The program included a year in review video, which noted highlights from 2015, as well as a brief preview of plans for 2016. Some of the main points from the video include:

·         2015 was a record-breaking year, full of accomplishments and accolades including being named Chamber of the Year by the Missouri State Chamber of Commerce and Industry, receiving 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for the second-straight five year period and adding 300 new members to reach the 1,200 member mark for the organization’s first time;

·         The Chamber launched programs focused on concentrated member groups including Cup of Joe for entrpreneurs, Circle of Influence for lead generation and Women’s Leadership Group for female business leaders;

·         The St. Joseph economy saw many companies grow and invest in 2015:

                Daily’s Premium Meats, a meat processing company, began construction on a a new 100,000 square foot facility. It will hire 212 employees during its first five years of operation. This is a capital investment of $41.5 million to $46.5 million.

                Sealed Air announced an investment of $45 million and the future creation of jobs that will pay in excess of $20 an hour.

                F&H Food Equipment purchased 2 acres in Eastowne Business Park and began construction on an 8,000 square foot building with an estimated capital investment of $817,000.         

                Details of all of these projects and more were highlighted in the 2015 Annual Report, which was provided

                to all attendees and is on the Chamber’s website, www.saintjoseph.com

                To see the Year in Review video, as well as two other videos shown at the banquet, please visit the Chamber’s website and click on the Video Center.

                The meeting was the ceremonial changing of the guard for officers. Todd Meierhoffer, of Meierhoffer Funeral Home and Crematory, was honored as the Chairman of the Board for 2015. Stet Schanze, of Gray Manufacturing Co. Inc., is the 2015 Chairman.