LOCAL CHAMBER SIGNS 81 MEMBERS

The Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce surpassed its goal of 56 new members during a one-day membership blitz Tuesday.

"We signed 81 new members," said Linda Minner, special-projects director for the chamber.

Following the annual membership blitz, the chamber membership stands 1,202. That count could go higher. The early count included only paid memberships.

"We usually receive a few memberships a day or two following the one-day membership blitz," said Minner, who coordinated the new-membership count.

The local chamber is one of the top five in the state in total membership and No. 1 in its population category of 50,000-and-under.

The new membership list places the local chamber in fourth position in Missouri, behind The Greater Kansas City, Springfield and Columbia chambers.

Cape Girardeau has ranked No. 1 in its population category the past few years and has been in the third position overall until this year.

Columbia moved into the No. 3 position this year, with a membership of 1,400, second to Springfield's 1,800. The Kansas City chapter has more than 3,000 members.

"We went into the 1997 membership drive with a goal of 56," said Rozan Bonsignore, co-chairman with Ron Swift of the 1997 campaign. "The goal is based on membership. We try to sign at least 5 percent of the current membership."

Bonsignore helped her own cause this year. She worked with Don Hill as a recruiting team, and the two signed up 13 new members to emerge as the top recruiting team of the day.

"This has been just a great day," she said. "Recruiting teams did a great job."

The overall goal of the chamber is to keep the membership between 1,100 and 1,200, said John Mehner, president of the local chamber. "After today we're over the 1,200 mark," he said.

The chamber started the day at 1,121 members.

Over the past decade, the local chamber has ranged in membership from 1,022 in 1987 to a high of 1,230 in 1995.

The figures are more than double the chamber membership a quarter-century ago. The chamber had 571 members in 1972.

The Cape Girardeau chamber is observing its 80th year in 1997. Although the chamber was actually founded in 1920, the Cape Girardeau Commercial Club was in existence three years earlier, in 1917. The Commercial Club had about 100 members.