Cape Chamber honors business leaders at banquet

Two individuals and one small business were bestowed awards Friday night at the annual Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce banquet in the cozy confines of the Conference Center at Drury Plaza.

Beginning in 2019, the Chamber will bestow the Drury Family Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award to recognize one or more worthy entrepreneurs with direct ties to this area. Chamber past president and dinner emcee Jon K. Rust announced, “This is a family we wanted to name the award after… and a family who stepped forward to generously endow the plan. It is a family whose name is synonymous with quality, value and community spirit — and their family members represent one of the most successful entrepreneurial stories from our region.”

In addition to the award, the entrepreneurial recognition program will include a hall of fame within the Marquette Tech District and a walk of fame in downtown Cape Girardeau.

The Limbaugh Award this year went to Bob Neff, who has been extremely active on local boards and committees, giving back to the community. He recently finished three years on the chamber executive committee, including as chairman. The GM at Ford Groves, Neff thanked mentors, family and the community for support over the years. He cracked jokes while accepting the award, and expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the recognition.

Todd and Megan Marchi, founders of Marco Construction Products, were honored as the Small Business of the Year at the banquet. Todd told the crowd that it wasn’t easy getting a construction business started during the economic collapse in 2008, but with the support of his family, including wife Megan, and financial institutions willing to take a risk, the business was able to succeed over the last nine-plus years. Todd Marchi is the son of Dennis Marchi, a former winner of the Rush H. Limbaugh Award.

Brandy McIntire was given the chamber’s Ambassador of the Year award for her volunteer work with the chamber and her recruitment of new members to the organization.

More than 800 people attended the banquet Friday night, an impressive showing for one of the strongest chambers in Missouri, led by CEO John Mehner. Congratulations to all the award winners, and thank you to all the Chamber employees and volunteers for putting on a great banquet and lifting up businesses in the Cape Girardeau community.