TROY – The Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 40th anniversary with a festival this past weekend, and President Dawn Mushill reflected on the chamber’s history. Mushill has served as the chamber’s president for 24 years. She expressed her excitement for the 40th anniversary event and her goals to see the chamber continue for years to come. “I love my job. I have a passion for my job. You’ve got to love this job,” Mushill said. “I meet with every single chamber member when they join. We learn two or three things about them, so if I run into them, I know they have a son that plays soccer. We know that they’ve been in business for 23 years. We work really hard to ask them, ‘What do you want?’” Despite some construction in downtown Troy during the festival, there were still hundreds of people who came out to enjoy the food trucks, electric car show, vendors and local businesses. Attendees could stop in any of the 16 businesses in downtown, visit with eight vendors and snack at seven food trucks. Mushill noted that Troy Mayor David Nonn has been pushing for growth in the downtown Troy district. Nonn and the City Council advocated for an event downtown, and the Chamber of Commerce was happy to deliver. “They gave us tourism funding and said, ‘What can you do?’ And this is what we did,” Mushill said. “It really came together. I love seeing so many people going in and out of our downtown businesses.” The Chamber works to support these businesses. They welcome members from all around the Riverbend region. Of their membership, 48% are based in Troy, Maryville, St. Jacob or Marine, while 52% are from surrounding communities. The 40th anniversary festival aimed to bring people to downtown Troy while sharing more about the Chamber’s purpose. Mushill encouraged people to visit their local businesses and get involved in the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce. “I want people to know that we have businesses downtown and they are amazing,” she added. “These are people who have went out on a limb to open their own business, put their own money into it, their own time. The buildings have been here, but they created them. I want people to know we’ve got some great stuff going on downtown. It’s great.” For more information about the Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce, including how to join, visit their official website at TroyMaryvilleCOC.com.
