2022 Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: Madison County Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Name + Website

Madison County Chamber of Commerce

Elected leader for 2022

Mark Baudler, Assistant Vice President, Union State Bank

Professional Staff Leader of the Chamber

Amara Huffine, Executive Director

Number of Members

296 Members

How Does a Business Join Your Chamber?

Any business interested in joining our chamber can visit: madisoncounty.com and submit an online application or visit the Madison County Chamber and Welcome Center at 73 Jefferson in Winterset, IA 50273 and apply in person.

What Inspired You to First Get Involved with Your Chamber?

I applied for the Executive Director position after unexpectedly losing my fundraising job during the COVID-19 pandemic. I had spent a lot of time in Madison County during that time and fell in love with the natural beauty and the kindness of the community. When I saw the job description, I knew it would be a wonderful place to continue to grow in my career, as a community leader, and as an individual.

What is a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?

Our signature offering is Member Monday videos. Once a month we film a quick video with one of our members to promote them and give them an opportunity to discuss their business and how our community can support them. This video is added to our social media, YouTube channel and in our weekly e-newsletter.

What is Your Chamber’s Biggest Accomplishment in the Past 12 Months?

We’ve had a wonderful year, but our proudest accomplishment is the role we served when an EF4 tornado struck Madison County on March 4, 2022. We lost six of our community members that fateful day. The Madison County Chamber worked with Madison County Emergency Management to become the center for volunteers. Anyone interested in assisting our community in cleaning up and rebuilding reached out to the Chamber. Our staff, volunteers and board members came out to help answer phone calls, emails, social media requests and conduct in-person visits. We worked with local agencies, businesses and organizations to organize meals for the volunteers. The Madison County Chamber of Commerce played this role for four days until another agency was able to step in and help.

What Initiative/Project Are You Looking Forward to in the Upcoming Year?

We are looking forward to building upon the success of 2022 and implementing a new event: Paint Madison County, An En Plaine Air Festival in July 2023. This event will host several different artists around Madison County giving them an opportunity to artistically capture the inspiration of Madison County and its gems.

What Partnership Tools/Resources Have Been Most Beneficial to Your Chamber Members?

The Greater Des Moines Partnership team has been tremendous during the pandemic and our leadership transition. Our members continue to utilize the Top Five for Business seminars and we were honored to attend the 2022 Workplace Summit and the DMDC trip.

What Are Your Upcoming Events? Our upcoming events include:

• Friday, Nov. 25 – Winterset Festival of Lights: Join us in Winterset's courthouse district starting at 5 p.m. for food, music, free horse-drawn carriage rides, shopping and live and lighted window displays. A parade starts at 7:15 p.m., ending with an appearance by Santa! The fun concludes with the movie Elf at the Iowa Theater at 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Nov. 26 – Small Business Saturday
• Friday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10 – Bells, Bows and Boutiques Tour: Join the Madison County Chamber, Adel Chamber and Indianola Chamber as we provide a unique road trip and an opportunity for you to shop local. Each town along the route will feature local shopping and dinning.
• Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11 – Winterset Solstice Market: Shop local this year at the square and at our Winter Solstice Market. This holiday themed market features more than 20 small business vendors. Vendors will be at the market on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 11 from Noon – 4 p.m.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the fourth largest regional Chamber of Commerce in the nation. Learn more about Partnership Affiliate Chambers, browse the Membership Directory and read additional Affiliate Chamber spotlights.