Chamber of Commerce Chatter

Hello October! Happy Autumn! The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. Time to get out those sweaters, hoodies, shoes and socks for attending the outdoor activities. Happy Halloween! Do you have your costumes figured out yet? Check out the Halloween events inside that will be coming up. The kids can wear their costumes more than once.

 

Thank you to everyone that sponsored, worked and attended the Irish ‘Toberfest Bags, Brew and BBQ! The weather was beautiful for an outside event. Next year, on September 12, 2026 this event will move back to the community center. Christensen Farms provided the Prairie Fresh ribs that were prepared by 22 teams. Attendees had 22 different flavors of ribs to choose from! Wm. Krotter Co., donated the Pit Boss Grill that was won by Mark May of Plainview. Mark was one of the registered teams in the rib contest. The Home Brewers provided different flavors of their beer for the public to taste. There were fall flavors, regular flavors and even fruit flavors! See photos of all the winners inside.

 

Congratulations to the Summerfest Rodeo Committee on winning the 2025 Mid-States Small Purse Rodeo of the Year! This award is voted on by the rodeo contestants. They like our facility, how our rodeo is ran and how they are treated while they are in O’Neill. Thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers, city departments and EVERYONE who helps to make this event so successful year after year! This is our 10th of these awards. Keep up the good work everyone!

 

Mark your calendars for Friday, November 14th and Friday, December 5th. Friday, November 14th will be our Annual Ladies Night Out. This is the event where the shoppers visit the participating businesses to shop and pick up playing cards. The Finale Party will be at the Handlebend Building with Neko’s Pub catering delicious appetizers for everyone to enjoy. December 5th will be the Hometown Christmas event. Start now thinking of how you are going to design your lighted Christmas parade entry! We will have Santa Claus in the back of the Handlebend Building for the kids to visit with. The Kloppenborgs will be doing the hayrack rides too. We will have the reindeer back for everyone to see. Be sure to thank Stacy Vandersnick from Little Tots Preschool and Daycare for her generous donation sponsoring the reindeer. More information to come as the event gets closer. This is such a fun family event in our community to kick off the holiday season.

 

The Chamber is going to all paperless billing on January 1, 2026. You will only receive your invoices through email after that date. For the months finishing out 2025, you will get a paper invoice as well as an email invoice. You can also pay the email invoices online, saving you writing a check and mailing it! Please be sure the chamber office has your correct email address. Please send it to lauri@oneillchamber.com, if you aren’t sure what we have on file. All of the membership fees have been frozen for 2026. Your membership will remain the same amount in 2026 that it was in 2025.