Growing Belleville thru Community Chats

Growing Belleville thru Community Chats

By The Greater Belleville Chamber of CommerceBusiness
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Growing Belleville thru Community Chats episodes

  • Getting into the Holiday Spirit

    On this episode, Erik and Stephen sit down with... no one. We actually decided that on this episode we would take the opportunity to kick off the holiday season by discussing all the fun activities for families to do in and around the Belleville Area and reflect on what these events have meant to us over the years and how important it is for everyone to get out and enjoy them since so many things did not occur last year due to the pandemic  In this episode we discuss:

    - Belleville Santa Claus Parade

    - The Christkindlmarkt 

    - The importance of Small Business Saturday

    - The Chambers Movie Nights with Santa

    - The Holiday Pops performed be the Belleville Philharmonic Society (the 2nd oldest, continuously ran Philharmonic in the country behind Boston)

    - The lights and The Shrine and WWT Raceway in Madison


    Link to the Flier of these events can be found here:

    https://www.belleville.net/DocumentCenter/View/8460/2021-Belleville-Holiday-Events-Calendar



    22 min
  • A Lesson with Dr. Brian Mentzer of BTHS 201

    In this episode we catch up with BTHS 201 Superintendent Dr. Brian Mentzer and discuss:

    • The school districts recent purchase of Kings Point


      • The districts amazing plans for Kings Point


        • How the district has taken a stronger approach to the trades in the last few years


          • The struggles over the past 19 months with the pandemic


            • How sports, band and all other extra curricular activities have been an important aspect for students this past year
              • 23 min
            • A Peachy conversation with Chris Eckert

              In this Episode we sit down with the President of Eckert's, Chris Eckert where we discuss:

              - the History and Background of the Family Farm and how it got to where it is today

              - How Chris got started in the family business

              - How they do such a good job drawing in people from MO and other bordering areas

              - Some of the exciting things they have planned for the future (including a new beer garden at the Belleville location)



              28 min
            • Mixing up the Hurricanes with Brandon McGraw and The Quarter Restaurant

              In this episode we catch up Brandon McGraw, one of the owners of Belleville's Original NOLA inspired restaurant, The Quarter and discuss: 

              - Why they decided to invest in Downtown Belleville 

              - Why they decided to open their second restaurant during covid 

              - The HERO Beer Tab at their other restaurant in Fairview Heights, Signature Tap House 

              - How they, and all downtown Belleville restaurants, work together to help each other 

              - What the return of events such as the Belleville Oktoberfest and Chili Cook Off mean for restaurants downtown 

              - A special competition they are having between their two restaurants for the Belleville Chili Cook Off

              27 min
            • Tapping into Oktoberfet with Cari Frick and Mixing up the (Belleville Chili Cook-off) pot with Wendy Pfeil

              With the return of events coming to Downtown Belleville. we sit down with the Cari Frick from Oktoberfest and Wendy Pfeil from the Belleville Chili Cook-off to discuss a few things including:

              - How excited they and the city are to have these events back this year.

              - How much work and time they (along with others) have had to put into this years events compared to past years.

              - The effects last year had on the events being cancelled. 

              - How the events have adapted due to covid and all the precautions they are taking

              - Much more


              27 min
            • Racing to the Finish Line with Chris Blair of WWT Raceway

              In this episode we sit down with Chris Blair, Executive Vice President of World Wide Technology Raceway to discuss a slew of things including:

              • His background and how he got to where he is today
              • How WWT Raceway has looked outside the box to bring people into their race weekends
              • The impact that WWT Raceway has on the surrounding communities, including Belleville, with their events
              • This weekends NASCAR Camping World and NTT IndyCar races


                • 30 min
              • Catching up With Mayor Patty Gregory

                In this episode we sit down with Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory and discuss a slew of things including:

                • her first 3 months in office/
                • her love for gardening/
                • the return of events to downtown Belleville this fall/
                • and what Belleville has learned and gained over the past year through Covid to name a few.



                  • 41 min

                About Growing Belleville thru Community Chats

                From the publisher's feed

                A Podcast to help highlight, promote and enlighten people, businesses and community events in the Greater Belleville Area