Chamber of Commerce Chatter

WOW! Can you believe August is here already? Where did the summer go? Seems like the kids just got out of school and they are already preparing to go back! Teachers, students, staff, parents are all getting ready for the new schedule change for fall. Fall sports will be kicking off soon. Get those stadium seats out and go support all the kids participating! The kids appreciate the community support! Remember to watch for the kids walking and riding their bikes to and from school too. For some, this may be a whole new experience so be on extra alert in the mornings and afternoons!

 

We did it again! Another successful Summerfest Celebration is behind us. Mother Nature had to put in her two cents worth to try to mess things up, but we were able to move forward with our events. What a fantastic time it was!! THANK YOU from the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce, to every sponsor, volunteer, club, church, city department and everyone that had anything to do with our 2025 Summerfest Celebration! It takes many people and lots of dollars to make these events happen. I am so proud of our community and how we come together to set up, take down, clean up and work all the events. I already have Joseph Hall, the Elvis Tribute Artist booked for 2026, along with some of the things needed for the concert and personnel for the rodeo. Yes, we do work a whole year to bring this all together! We are so fortunate to live in a small town that makes this big event happen. Thank you to Cheri McConnell, Shelly Campbell, Mary Lieb and Tammy Tienken for keeping things going in the office and at some of the events, when I am all over the place getting things together. Thank you to Gene Kelly and Scott Poese for leading the Summerfest Rodeo Committee and the Summerfest Entertainment Committees! These two put in weeks of work behind the scenes and at the venues to be sure the events go off without a hitch. When you see them, tell them thank you for their great leadership. To see all the photos from Summerfest by Summermarie Photography, go to https://summermariephotography14.pixieset.com/summerfest25/. Summerfest will always be the third weekend in July. Mark your calendars now for July 16-19, 2026! See you there!

 

We have a couple events coming up here in August and September. O’Neill will be hosting the High School Rodeo on Sunday, August 25th. There will be lots of extra people in town for the event. Carney Park will be overflowing with pickups and trailers on Saturday night as the contestants and their families will be coming in on Saturday night from Bloomfield. Be sure to welcome all these people to town!

 

The Irish “Toberfest Bags, Brew and BBQ will be coming up on Saturday, September 13th. The event has been moved back to the Knights of Columbus Hall for 2025. You have a couple of months to work on those recipes so you are ready for the competition!