Chamber holds annual meeting

The Aurora Chamber of Commerce conducted its annual meeting Monday, recapping a busy year of successful events and electing its board and executive team for the coming year.
The meeting began with brief introductions of each board member and all cited their personal reasons for volunteering to serve.
Nick Heinrichs then gave a financial report, noting a fiscal year with $105,244 in total revenue and $100,444 in expenses, leaving net operating income of $4,799.
The majority of the 20-minute meeting was devoted to brief reviews of the Chamber’s main events over the past year. Those events included Bands on the Bricks, which averaged 400 people in attendance each week of the summer concert series; Come Home to Christmas, scheduled for Saturday with several new events on the agenda; the annual banquet, which was conducted at the Bremer Center in 2024 and will be again on Jan. 23, 2025; the annual golf tournament, which drew 14 teams this year; the Leadership Tomorrow class, which is maxed out with 15 participants; Market on the Square, which had its biggest year ever averaging 30 vendors per week; Scare the Square, which was deemed a success with 800 people attending. Ambassadors was also mentioned as a group with 10 members. 
Membership was listed at 167 for the current year, retaining 96 percent from the previous year. One goal set during the board retreat was to include a showcase of all members on the Chamber’s new website, which is expected to debut in January.
The Chamber’s executive team will remain the same for the coming year with Dereck Djernes as president, Derek Rose as vice president, Nick Heinrichs as treasurer and Jeni Obermier as secretary. Other board members include Bridgett Svoboda, Selena Longoria, Jodi Powers, Ashley Parker, Connor Ashby, Dalton Aksamit, Kelsey Hofmann and Marlin Seeman.