CHAMBER MAY PASS MEMBERSHIP GOAL OF 60

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce surpassed its goal of 60 new members during a one-day membership blitz Tuesday, and shoved its membership past the 1,230 mark.

"We signed 47 new members," said Linda Minner, special-projects director for the chamber. The early count included only paid memberships.

That count could go higher.

"We'll probably see some additional memberships," said Minner. "In past years, we've had from 10 to 20 new members within a few days of the membership drive."

"By end of the week, we fully expect to top 60," said John Mehner, chamber president and CEO. He said the leads they have are solid, but the paperwork involved in large corporate sponsorships takes longer.

"Our overall goal is to keep the membership between 1,100 and 1,200," said Mehner. "This puts us over that goal."

Allen Phillips, Prudential Insurance and Financial Services, was chairman for the membership drive.

Teams picked up packets at the kickoff breakfast at the Drury Lodge, and returned at 5 p.m. for the final tabulation.

Tuesday's top recruiting team was Cathi Schlosser, with Workforce, and Jerry Reynolds, from Metro Lighting and electric. Together they recruited 16 new members.

"You Make a Difference" was the theme for this year's blitz.

Currently, the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce ranks fourth in Missouri in membership numbers, behind Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield.

Cape Girardeau ranks first in its own population category of 50,000 and under.