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Brookfield, Missouri - “A Great Place to Land!”

September 2009 (Click here to see our member ribbon cuttings!)
"Chamber Chatter"

Hello from the Brookfield Chamber of Commerce… gosh, so much to say that I’m going to jump right in…On to the chatter!!!

The Missouri Community Betterment judges came to Brookfield today. The five projects that were submitted for the MCB Conference judging were: The Grand Opening of Pershing Hospital…Downtown Revitalization Project with the Drury University Students…The opening of Reel Time Cinema…Brookfield Sesquicentennial…and the Brookfield City Hall Renovation. The judges are only here for one hour and in that time period toured all the facilities and saw short presentations on each. They also toured Main Street seeing the newly refurbished underpass, uncovered windows above Safari Salon, and the Step Back in Time Building. Their impression of Brookfield in that short amount of time is what most of our score comes from. A very detailed scrapbook of these events (compiled by Marcia Cunningham) was submitted back in July (that’s the other part). Last year, we received First Place in our division and hope for a repeat again this year. The MCB Conference will be held Monday, October 19th, in Jefferson City.

Chamber Lunch kicked off its new season today at “A Step Back in Time” with speakers Ryan Johnson & Chuck Hayes from Chariton Valley. They told us about the new cell towers going up in the area along with other new improvements. If you haven’t been coming to the Chamber Lunches…please make an effort to attend. The food is great; and, of course, it’s always good company!!! Third Wednesday of every month at Noon. Next month’s lunch will be on October 21st with a speaker from the US Census Bureau…very interesting!!!

Brookfield Bowl starts the Youth Bowling Leagues on Sep 19th. This year, they have a Friday afternoon league starting at 3:00 pm, and Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm. Kids 12 & under will be bowling in a themed bowling league called “Bowlopolis”. There is a website www.bowlopolis.com and each bowler 12 & under will receive a DVD with bowling cartoons, and all youth bowlers receive a bowling shirt included in their registration fee of $17. Call Brian @ 258-7476 for any more info.

The Recycling Trailer arrived today and will be here all week until September 23rd. Next month, it will be in the Wal-Mart Parking lot from October 14th-21st. If you are a business and have cardboard or pallets to be picked up, just call Hope Haven at 646-5172. The truck comes to Brookfield twice a week to pick up these items. Thank you for recycling!

The Linn County Health Department Flu Clinics will kick off on Monday Sept. 28th between 11am & 2pm at the Park Baptist Church. Next, they will go to Marceline & Bucklin on Oct. 2nd; Meadville, Laclede & Linneus on Oct 5th; and back to Brookfield (at the Health Dept) on Oct. 7th.

Did you always want to learn to square dance??? The Tanglefoot Squares will host a free fun night on Monday, September 21,  7-9 PM at the High School Conference Room. Caller will be Kenny Baily. For more info, call 258-2769.

The BAGP (Brookfield Area Growth Partnership) Leadership Academy started this past Saturday. This is the 4th year with 14 participants signed up. What a worthy program! It has been bringing new volunteers and ideas to our community. For any information, please call Marcia Cunningham at 258-7278.

The Sesquicentennial Committee still has these items for sale.

• Sesquicentennial Plates $20.00

• Ornaments $10.00

• Adult T-shirts $10.00 all sizes, and Children’s T-shirts $5.00

You can get these at Wright-Baker-Hill Funeral Home 660-258-5050.

Reel Time Cinema is so close to having the new Arcade & Party Room open for business. They have even more games arriving today (I don’t know where they are putting them all). Remember, the phone #660-258-2224 or go online to check out the times and what’s showing at www.reeltimecinema.com. I’m going to see Julie & Julia tonight…Free Popcorn night!!!

Twisters Fire Grill hosted a sneak peek “Tasting Event” Monday evening. Over 200 people came and enjoyed sampling everything on the menu. It was all so delicious!!! My favorite was the Cajun shrimp sandwich on Twisters (baked fresh everyday) homemade roll and the homemade shoestring potatoes and the tuna salad and the flowering onion and the “inside-out” burger…(didn’t try the one pounder…I only saw one person try to take that on…you go Jeff!!!). Well, obviously I liked a lot of things and there are dozens more items so you’ll just have to try them yourself. Twisters opened in full force yesterday morning at 6 AM. The hours are 6 AM-10 PM every day with a full Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner menu for sit down or carry-out. Please try them out soon…you will be pleased. Guess I should mention that Twisters is located in the old KFC Building on the corner of Lockling and South Main and the phone # is 660-258-7837. Also the Ribbon Cutting was today at 2 pm. More on that later…Whew!!!

Don’t forget that Junk & Disorderly has moved to the old State Street Station Building at 412 S. State Street. They still have antique & craft booths and still have live music on Saturdays. Their hours are Mon-Fri 8:30-3:30 and 10-4 on Saturday. You can reach them by calling 660-973-6220.

We had a Ribbon Cutting last week on September 8 at new business “The Time Warp Antique & Thrift Store” located next door to Hometown Hardware. New Chamber members John Greenwood & Lisa McIntosh can be reached by calling 660-258-7191 or by 
e-mail or stop by the store at 112 S. Main Street. It is way too close to my office…I’ve already added two great new antiques to my overflowing house. They have a lot of “Everything I Never Needed But Just Have to Have”. :o)

The “Inn at Clover Hill” on Hwy YY right outside Sumner is finished and ready for business. They are ready to host your meetings, receptions, reunions, retreats, and weddings. They also have a six acre Corn Maze with two and half miles of walking trails. It is good clean fun for the whole family!!! Adults $5.00 Children $4.00, with group rates available. Their Fire Pit is ready, so bring your own hot dogs and smores and have a great time. Call 660-856-3648 for info.

“Business to Business” is the new discussion group that invites all Linn County businesses to join them. Their first group brochure is out and can be picked up at Tooey’s, Brookfield Bowl, Brookfield Bookstore, Wild Rose’s Custom Sewing, Tastee Treat, Bloss Auto or Linn County Computer Repair. For more information on the new brochures, you can contact Brain Menini @ 258-7476. The next meeting will be held at the Bookstore on October 8th @ 5:30. Please come see how you can all help each other in business. Contact Calvin or Rhonda Uptain @ 660-258-7800 for any additional info.

A special note about Chariton Valley Telephone…While we don’t get the Chariton Valley Cable here in Brookfield, some of our neighbors in Bucklin, New Cambria, Bevier, Callao, Salisbury, Huntsville & Macon do, and a couple of weeks ago they invited me to do a 10-minute talk show about the 33rd Great Pershing Balloon Derby with host Donna Bell. It was my first TV talk show and as usual...those of you that saw it…I rambled on & on and barely gave Donna a chance to talk. I do thank them for the publicity - I received many calls on it and I know it helped with the event attendance. Thanks Donna!!!

Life Care Center of Brookfield will be providing free “Balance and Fall Prevention” information on Sept 22 at Joyce Place Community room from 10 am to 11 am and also at the Brookfield Senior Center from 11 am until noon. Everyone is invited to come. They are also planning their annual Oktoberfest, so keep watching for more information.

Brookfield’s City Wide Garage Sale will be on October 2nd & 3rd. No maps this time…you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way…buy an ad in the newspaper & hang up signs (don’t forget to take them down after your sale!!!).

The Linn County Republican Women will be sponsoring their annual Lincoln Day Activities Saturday, October 10, 2009 at Smith's Business and Auction Facility, 502 S. State, Brookfield. They will host a reception from 5:30 to 7 PM. The guest speaker will be U. S. Representative Roy Blunt, Springfield. For more information, call 660-244-3153 or 660-376-4091.

The Balloon Derby went very well this year. It is a weather controlled sport, so sometimes you miss a couple races but safety always comes first. We had many new sponsors along with some that have never missed a year. Brookfield is very fortunate to have the longest running BFA Sanctioned races in the country, and we couldn’t keep that title without the solid support that comes from our sponsors and our community. Thanks to all who helped in any way!!! There are still T-shirts available (on sale, too)!!!

Oktoberfest in the Park will kick off on Friday with some family pumpkin decorating in their first Annual Pumpkin Carving contest. After the Homecoming Parade, stroll through Twin Parks and enjoy BBQ from some of the Saturday contestants. The Beer & Wine Tent (hosted by Brookfield Eagles) will be set up for business Friday afternoon & all day Saturday. On Saturday, October 10, we kick off with a new baby show at 9 am (registration at 8:30am)…Kiddie Parade at Noon…Crafters, antiques, flea market & farmers market booths set up for free from 9 am-3 pm. The 4th Annual Pumpkin Pie Contest is at 11 AM, 5th Annual Kids Apple Pie at Noon, 6th Annual Apple Pie Contest at 1 pm & Chili Cook off at 2 pm. The “Oktoberfest Bar-B-Q Cook-off” public tasting begins at 2 pm for only $5.00. There are new kids games from 1-3 and a family hayride starting at 3 pm. Pub crawl from 3 pm -6 pm & gazebo entertainment @ 4 pm. This fun event ends with a Street Dance on East John between Linn & Main Streets. For more info on the Bar-B-Q Contest, contact Larry Shew @ 660-258-5446. Park vendors: please call the Chamber for info on setting up; pie & chili contestants, please pre-register at the Chamber @ 660-258-7255.

If you have any questions on anything in the Chamber Chatter, just call the chamber office @ 660-258-7255 or e-mail us. We are here to assist you and our community in any way we can.

Thanks for reading “CHAMBER CHATTER”!!!