Brown, Orr, Little Sprouts Honored; Mayor Gives State of City; Wolff Lays Out Vision at Carmi Chamber Dinner

On August 7, 1944, the Carmi Chamber of Commerce was backed by the city council and just 3 weeks later it became a reality.  Eighty years later and the organization is still fulfilling it’s mission to work towards making Carmi a thriving, economic engine.  Monday night, the Chamber continued another tradition by naming it’s 68^th annual Citizen of the Year.  Luke Sailer, the Chamber Vice President for the coming year had the honors.

“If this person were to leave Carmi and no longer be in the community, how and in how many ways would we feel that loss?  That’s always what I have in the back of my mind about who the Citizen of the Year is.  The recipient this evening has been someone who’s shown decades of unwavering support, a sense of service, and call to duty for the community of Carmi.  His dedication to his art and talent is simply unrivalled.  The amount of time he put into his work has only been equaled by the quality of his work.  His eloquent writing style made everyone he wrote about feel special.  He’s a man that knows that even the star is nothing without a team.  That man is Mr. Toby Brown.

Brown began by thanking his parents before turning his attention to instrumental folks in the community who helped pilot his course in life.

I was hired at the radio station after I got out of college and the General Manager at the time needed someone to take over basketball commentary with Steve Cox and he asked me and I said, ‘No!’ not once, not twice, probably four or five times and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.  That turned out to be a decision that’s kind of defined my life.  But more so than that, I think by dumb luck during that time in the mid-90’s, I came into contact with three people that came into my life that helped shape this and those were Steve Cox, Ray Mitchell, and John Evers.  Those were people that loved their community dearly and would do anything and it’s kind of expected that you serve your community.  So I was very fortunate that those three people entered my life in my early 20’s because my life could’ve taken a way different course if it weren’t for those people.  I always say to the CEO kids, when I was in school I was one of those people who said ‘I’m never coming back to Carmi’ and now at 53, I think to myself when friends in other towns ask ‘why are you still in Carmi?’ I’m like, ‘people love me here…why would I…why would you not want to be in a place where people love you.

Speaking of CEO, in it’s 9^th year now, class facilitator Tracy Orr has been recognized as the Young Professional of the Year rendering her nearly and occasionally speechless in acceptance.

Oh my gosh, I’m just so overwhelmed.  The CEO program has taught me so much and it’s blessed me.  99 kids…I didn’t realize it’s been 99 kids.  I give all the glory to God. He’s just…I just…I have nothing…I have no words, how is that possible?!  I’m just so thankful for my community.  My roots are so deep here.  I just love Carmi and White County and the CEO program has taught me to love it even more.  It’s just who I am.  Thank you so much!

The Business of the Year award went to an organization that’s made a big impact in a short time.  Little Sprouts Learning Center was awarded a Start up grant in 2022 when Beth Conner and her daughter Alexis Schmittler purchased the business and they’ve quickly blazed a trail and grown itself.  From community involvement to business collaborations, Little Sprouts has enhanced educational experiences for children while also making a difference in the community itself.  Conner called it coming full circle.

It’s been a pleasure for me to be an educator for 25 years and I knew I wasn’t ready to pull away from that yet.  So when Alexis said she really wanted to buy the center, I said let’s do it.  It’s definitely different for me because I’m not used to 2-year-olds

versus junior high kids.  It’s been so enjoyable and doing this has allowed me to become more involved in things like the Chamber.  I love going back to this.  I started at First Bank before I went into education so this allowed me to come full circle.  The best part of it all is getting to work with my daughter, all the time.

The other highlight from the annual gathering was an update from Mayor Jeff Pollard who delivered the annual State of the City address.  He says he’s proud of all the city employees and the work accomplished during the past year including storm cleanups and unexpected power outages while also working on upgrades in infrastructure.  The mayor also noted grants the city has obtained to help with water line replacements and dealing with removing homes beyond repair.  Beyond that, he touched on a theme brought up at last year’s Chamber

dinner in an appeal to land and business owners with regards to the cost of leasing.

Additionally, the city has received a $600,000 DCEO grant for public infrastructure to help repair water lines in the Schumaker Street area.  As I mentioned last year, the city received a grant through IDPHA to purchase and tear down homes beyond repair.  At the conclusion of round one of the first grant, we purchased and tore down eleven homes.  We’ve been awarded a second round of this grant and two houses were torn down last week with more to come.  Aside from city projects, we’re happy to welcome some new businesses to Carmi in the last year and I urge the community to support all of our local businesses.  One thing that continually comes up as we are trying to recruit and bring new businesses to Carmi is the cost of leasing facilities in our community.  If they’re high, it can be prohibitive for a new business trying to open their doors.  I encourage those who own buildings in Carmi to keep this in mind if you’re approached by a new or struggling business.

Katelyne Wolff, the incoming Chamber President, laid out her vision for the coming year.

As I began to brainstorm what I wanted my message to be tonight, my mind just kept going back to all the wonderful people that are in this community.  I kept asking

myself what makes a great community…and it’s the people.  What makes a great business?  It’s those people running those businesses daily.  Without all of you sitting in this room, Carmi wouldn’t be what it is today and I thank you for that.  But where do we go from here?  How do we continue to make Carmi such a great place to live, run a business, and raise a family.  My focus as President is to continue the great momentum that all of you have put in place.  We have to strive as a community to not be complacent.  We have to continue to press forward and work to grow this community into what we all know it can be.  And that is that it’s one of the best small towns in southern Illinois.  As President, I will challenge myself to do whatever I can to help this community prosper.  In closing, I want to leave you with this quote.  ‘The greatest thing in this world isn’t in where we stand; it’s what direction we’re moving.  Let us all strive to keep Carmi moving in the right direction.’