The Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture operates within Richland County as a business league – our members are our guiding force. Our efforts are geared toward strategies that increase our area’s economic vitality. Some of these strategies are environmental while others are directly impacting individual businesses. Specifically, here’s what we’re up to:

Downtown Renewal | We’ve initiated funding to establish a Downtown Renewal Master Plan. These plans can address concerns such as derelict buildings, walkability, lighting, placemaking, aesthetics and marketability, etc. In this planning phase, our members will be surveyed to identify a vision for downtown. I might be dreaming big, but I see a day where the sidewalks have a historic cobblestone pattern, vintage streetlights, and maybe a Townsquare option.
Outside of that, we were able to install a mural on the North side of Pizza House this summer with funding from our Sidney Tourism Business Improvement District. The mural is an interactive, Sidney -themed piece. It draws out many of our attractions in a cool pop-culture manner.

Community Outreach | Each month brings a variety of events hosted by the Chamber including Community Power Hours, Business After Hours, and Lunch n’ Learns. We’re happy to feature any of our Chamber Members in any of these options. These opportunities have been a great way to educate the community and shine a light on some topics. This year we’ve been able to connect with 2500 through Community Outreach events – separate from fundraising events. 2023 brought a website overhaul to the Sidney Area Chamber. Please visit our fresh community calendar and business directory. I think you’ll find them more visually appealing in terms of advertising and generally more functional. Progress is everchanging with online resources.

Shop Local | People are getting more familiar with our Shop Sidney E-Gift cards, which took over the Chamber Bucks program 2 years ago. Throughout the year several local events and marketing campaigns also help bring customers right to the front doors of our local shops. This year we added the Sidney Fall Festival to our schedule. While the Fall Festival is not a fundraiser, we were able to collaborate with four other nonprofits to make this event a success. The Wellness Collective and MonDak Ag Days are also industry tradeshows where local businesses can be showcased. The Wellness Collective was a 2023 addition we intend to continue.

Investing in People | Our Leadership Sidney Program is going strong with a record-breaking 20 participants this year. The Leadership Sidney Program is instrumental in integrating rising locals into community groups. The other project we started in this realm is the 20 Under 40 campaign. 20 Under 40 is designed to leverage our community’s rising leadership and demonstrate the value these generations have in our communities. Turns out – 54% of Richland County is under the age of 40 and we’ve found that this is a great opportunity to market the area as a progressive place to build a career and raise a family.

Events | The events of the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce serve a couple of different purposes. Some events are strictly fundraisers – supporting the 50% of our operations budget that is not covered by membership dues. Other events serve our mission and drive people to Sidney, landing them on the doorsteps of our local businesses. By in large, the most successful of these events in 2023 was our newly added Sunrise City Slam Basketball Tournament. This youth travel tournament brought around 1200 people to town for 2-3 days. Additionally, we assisted Sidney Schools with MHSA tournaments including Divisional and State Golf, the 2C Basketball Tournaments and State Speech and Drama.
Other notable events in 2023 included: our Annual Banquet and the New Business Showcase, the Richland County Career Fair, MonDak Ag Days Tradeshow and Banquet, the Wellness Collective, 20 Under 40 Reception, Ag Appreciation Golf Tournament, Sunset Festival, Fall Festival, Battle of the Bands, Holiday Gala with Dueling Pianos, the Christmas Stroll and Parade of Lights.
Business Resources | All Sidney Chamber personnel are well educated on resources: local, state, federal and private that can help your business. We’re happy to connect businesses with opportunities as they arise. In 2023, we partnered with Great Northern Economic Development and Richland Economic Development Corp. to bring a slew of trainings to town including Succession Planning, Creating a Digital Marketing Campaign, and Quickbooks for Everyone.
We never turn down a chance to do a ribbon cutting or quick celebratory kodak-moment to commemorate the milestones of our local businesses either. As long as the business communicates the milestone, we’re proud to promote the accomplishments of our businesses. There were 13 ribbon cuttings in 2023.
We’re pretty excited to get started on 2024. There’s plenty to do and with your support, we’ll get it done to the best of our ability. I sincerely hope that our projects align with your values and please know our door is always open for ideas and feedback.
This is our annual Membership drive for the Sidney Area Chamber of Commerce. Please consider reinstating your membership with us for 2024. Suggested membership tiers are listed on the next page.