The McLean County Chamber of Commerce is available to assist with your ceremony if your business has:

• Opened its doors within the past year.
• Moved to a new location.
• Remodeled or expanded your current location.
• Celebrating a milestone anniversary (5 years; 10 years; 25 years; etc.)
• Recently changed ownership.
• Groundbreaking

By hosting a ribbon cutting, you can:

• Introduce both the public and Chamber members to your business, and your products/services, and (if applicable) your business’s physical location.
• Increase the visibility of your business across the Chamber’s social media platforms.
• Attract potential customer base.

• We schedule our ribbon cuttings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at either 11:30am or 4pm. We have found these are the optimal days/times for attendance.
• Requested dates are on a first-come-first serve basis. Dates will not be held or added to the Chamber calendar until the Ribbon Cutting Request Form is completed in full.
• Please contact us as soon as you are thinking about having a ribbon cutting. We have many events taking place during the week and the earlier you reach out, the more likely we will be able to accommodate your date/time request.

The Chamber will promote your ribbon cutting on our website’s Events Calendar.

• Post your upcoming ribbon cutting in our Chamber Charge e-newsletter, which is emailed to over 3,500 members in our database.
• Create an event on the Chamber’s Facebook page.
• Create a calendar invite this is sent to our Ambassador committee, Chamber Board, and (for Premier and Executive Ribbon Cuttings), State Reps, Elected Officials for
• Bloomington, Normal, and McLean County and ALL local media.

While the Chamber will extend the above-mentioned invitations and list your ribbon cutting in our newsletter and on our calendar, we strongly encourage you to conduct your own PR campaign to increase the attendance and awareness of your business’ celebration. You should also consider inviting your business partners, financiers, contractors, employees, customers, friends, and family to be with you to celebrate this momentous occasion in your business’ history. Please understand that you should not rely solely on the Chamber to attract your audience.

• Our designated staff member who is running the ribbon cutting will arrive at your location 15 minutes prior to the start time and this is typically when Chamber members/guests start to arrive as well.
• We will say a few words prior to cutting the ribbon and you are welcome to speak as well. Determine prior to the ribbon cutting who will be speaking from your organization and who will cut the ribbon.
• We have a large banner that we all stand behind for the cutting and we will take pictures prior to cutting the ribbon. You decide the best location for the pictures- we recommend someplace where we can get the name of your business in the photo if possible. Pictures can be taken indoors or outdoors.
• Then we do a count down and cut the ribbon!

Other details to enhance your event:

• Refreshments, drinks, door prizes, and decorations are optional and up to you. Many businesses add these extra touches when conducting a public grand opening in conjunction with the ribbon cutting.
• Be sure to have plenty of marketing materials and/or business cards available for guests.