The Stuart Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to the rest of 2026, but is also happy with how the year has gone so far.

Chamber President Nate Westre says that a big goal for this year has been increased promotion of member businesses, as well as increasing the number of members. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that they reached an important milestone recently.

“We did last month hit our initial goal of 75 paid members. That was a big goal for me, just to show that there is momentum in the Stuart’s business community. And the more people that get involved, the more that just compounds. And we’re really excited. Now we’ve kind of modified our goal for membership to get closer to that 100 number.”

Westre mentions that not only are their members businesses in Stuart, but that establishments in the surrounding area, including Menlo, Dexter, Redfield and Greenfield have also joined. He adds that they’ve also had great Chamber meeting attendance, with 20-25 individuals per meeting.