McGregor-Marquette Chamber promotes area through events, marketing, networking

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

The McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce continues to promote the Ports of Discovery communities of Marquette and McGregor through events, marketing and networking opportunities. Efforts throughout 2024—and into 2025—aim to attract visitors to the area, support businesses and enhance quality of life in the towns.

Director Mary Anderson, who’s served nearly two years in the role, described the past year as “cautiously optimistic.”

“We got some alleviated pressure with construction moving down the street, but it was still an issue for us and for our businesses in McGregor,” she said. “We had some good reports from businesses doing well, but the economy is still a concern and the long, five-year impact of going through the pandemic. We’re not out of the woods, but we have a bright future ahead of us, and it’s getting closer every day.”

“Now, things will slow down during the winter,” she added. “Hopefully we can all regroup and look ahead to have a really great year.”

Some of the chamber’s most visible work is in its events, notably the McGregor Memorial Day Parade and Lazy River Beer and Wine Festival each June in Marquette, as well as the Great River Road - Road Race (GRRRR) and McGregor Halloween Parade and Spooky Soiree in October. 

Thanks to respective $608 and $500 grants from the Foundation for Cornerstone Communities and Crossing Rivers Health, the chamber was able to certify and sanction GRRRR with USA Track and Field, a move organizers hope will draw even more participants.

The Halloween parade and events downtown continued to prosper, with an increase in parade participation and additional activities for families in Triangle Park and the Backwoods Event Center.

“We also added events in 2024,” Anderson noted.

“Meet Me in McGregor” late shopping hours at retail stores launched in January and continued the second Thursday of each month. February included a winter survival workshop at Pikes Peak State Park, in partnership with Clayton County Conservation, while March saw a new “Get Reset in Marquette” spa weekend. 

Mimosas with Mom was held in May at the Backwoods Event Center, inviting people to enjoy drinks and take photos with the ladies in their lives, pick up swag bags highlighting local businesses and shop a vendor show and plant sale. Feedback was positive, and this will become an annual event.

In September, the chamber hosted a Spooky Thrifted Art Workshop, encouraging attendees to paint ghosts and other Halloween motifs onto thrifted art. 

This and the annual events will return in 2025, along with plans for new offerings. On Jan. 25, the chamber will host a lantern making workshop at Eagles Landing Winery in Marquette. Weather permitting, there are also hopes to hold an ice skating party at the rink in Marquette, then focus an event around morel mushroom and turkey hunting in the spring. 

Additionally, the McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce works with other area organizations to promote major community events such as the Sny Magill Ice Fisheree, Marquette Flea Markets and Fourth of July Parade, Great River Car Show and Cruise, McGregor Fall Art Festival, Festival of Trees and Santa Shops Small shopping punch card.

This year, Anderson will serve as the co-chair for Clayton County Development Group’s first ever Farm to Fork dinner. Held Sept. 14 at the Barn on Heron Hill near Elkader, the event will feature locally grown and produced foods from Clayton County.

In a carry over from 2024, the chamber plans a networking breakfast for members in March and hopes to continue potluck picnics with interested business owners and staff. Another idea to support the community is creation of a volunteer open house during Volunteer Week in April, in an effort to connect prospective volunteers with local organizations.

The McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce promotes its events and member businesses through traditional print and radio marketing as well as social media, and Anderson puts out a monthly newsletter highlighting new members and activities.

New in 2024, she created a McGregor merchant’s map, which also offers advertising space for businesses.

“It has been really useful,” Anderson said. “Most of the businesses have copies to help tourists find their way around the streets. Even though it’s a small town, we still get a lot of questions on how to find which stores.”

From Memorial Day through Christmas, the chamber generates a weekly itinerary listing one-time and ongoing events as well as ideas for recreation, eating and drinking and shopping in Marquette and McGregor. From January to Memorial Day, itineraries come out monthly.

“The itinerary gets solicited onto the chamber Facebook page and also is used in lodging establishments and distributed by the city of McGregor,” Anderson said. “It gives everyone a weekly roundup of everything happening in our area.”

The chamber regularly shares business updates on its “Visit McGregor-Marquette, Iowa” social media, which includes 11,094 followers on Facebook and 1,290 on Instagram. Photos highlighting the area’s scenic beauty are especially popular, as are videos. Continuing the success of videos with board member Dan “Summer Dan” Summerhays and local youth Nelie Stollenwerk to promote McGregor during construction, 2024 saw the introduction of ghosts into marketing. 

“Marketing requires flexibility, and people in McGregor love Halloween, so we’ve always put a good focus on Halloween,” Anderson said. “When we found out [psychic and author] Adrian Lee was coming to do ghost investigations and going to be doing tours, it was a wonderful combination. We started using the marketing tool of ghosts as early as September, when we offered the thrifted art painting class, designed to get people in the mood for Halloween decorating. It carried on to the tours and Adrian’s book and the Halloween Parade and Spooky Soiree.” 

Ahead of the Halloween festivities, the chamber filmed community members dressed as ghosts out enjoying the town and encouraging people to “get spooky.” The photos and videos were so well received the ghosts continued haunting Marquette and McGregor through the holidays, encouraging people to support and shop local, and they will likely feature in other upcoming promotions.

“We’re still using the ghosts to get the word out about McGregor and Marquette and what a fun place it is. It’s a great way to use our past residents and our history to attract people to where we are now,” Anderson said.

Another major way the chamber gets the word out is through the new www.portsofdiscovery.com, developed with the cities of Marquette and McGregor. The website, along with new branding and logos, were developed throughout 2024.

“We started, back in January, working on a new tourism website. That is designed to give folks a good picture of what there is to do. We have added special itineraries and information about recreation, shopping, lodging. There’s an interactive calendar of events, which we update regularly,” Anderson explained. “Inside that page is the chamber website, totally re-designed. You can still get there using our old address or by starting out at portsofdiscovery.com. The chamber website offers the business directory and also gives people a way to sponsor events, buy tickets, join the chamber and sign up for my monthly newsletter.”

While a lot of marketing and interacting with visitors takes place online, and Anderson is training to become a certified digital marketing professional, she said personal conversations are still an important part of the chamber’s role.

“I still mail brochures, and I still love it when people bring brochures for my office,” she said. “People come in with historical questions quite often, or are looking for a certain relative or a grave in the cemetery, or just wanting to know what happened to something that was here when they were a child. That requires research on my part, or finding the correct person—usually [McGregor Library Director] Michelle Pettit or history resource Joe Brooks.”

“Even though a lot of things have gone to the internet, we still cater to travelers who like personal touches on their communications. We still have great conversations with people who come into the office. We give referrals out to businesses. People who are looking to buy homes call, people who are looking to rent or find land,” Anderson added.

The McGregor-Marquette Chamber of Commerce plans to continue the above work in 2025, but has additional goals too. In McGregor, Anderson hopes to partner with the city to attract new businesses now that construction is complete. 

“We’re primed,” she said. “All our fellow businesses would be excited to welcome new businesses, and the chamber is here to help with that as well, in partnership with the city of McGregor.”

In Marquette, the chamber is exciting about sharing the progress of Casino Queen Marquette’s landside move, as well as development of the Driftless Station in the former school building.

“The Marquette Action Club has re-formed, and the McGregor Historical Society, and the chamber is excited to work with them and assist with events as they come up in Marquette,” Anderson said. “The new trail system is exciting too, and having more outdoor activities. We’re encouraging people to use it.”

In an effort to raise more funds for its initiatives, the chamber is also working with corporate travel partner Adelman Discoveries to offer international travel experiences. The first adventure—a nine-day trip to Paris and Normandy in November—is being offered now, with details on the “Visit McGregor-Marquette, Iowa” Facebook page. Anderson can also provide detailed itineraries and answer questions at mcgregormarquettechamber@gmail.com or (563) 873-2186, or by stopping at the chamber office at 146 Main St., in McGregor.

“Trips like this are relationship building events for chambers and their communities,” she said. “And you’ll be providing non-membership revenue to the chamber when you book this trip, so we can provide more events here at home.”