The strategic plan developed and being used by Callaway Chamber of Commerce staffers continues to give them direction.
"It's a living document," Executive Director Tamara Tateosian told members of the Fulton City Council this week in her 2018 overview.
The chamber's goal is to build a community welcoming and supporting businesses and families. That includes new job-building initiatives such as the proposed CorrectLife facility. This project is a secured skilled-nursing facility with about 150 beds, serving parolees and others who sometimes are difficult to house. The state approved the project's certificate of need in September.
The facility will be constructed on 11.34 acres near Fulton Medical Center. CorrectLife, founded by Dr. Carlo A. Musso, also operates a similar facility in Georgia; this will be the second center. The 65,000-square-foot facility will provide 24-hour skilled nursing care, and the estimated cost of construction is $19.9 million, the Fulton Sun previously reported.
"They're working on C3 zoning," Tateosian added.
Several industrial projects are in the pipeline - one a logistics operation with 10-12 jobs and the other a pharmaceutical packaging operation with 100 jobs.
The proposed port authority continues forward, but it's undetermined if it will straddle the Missouri River near Jefferson City, Tateosian said.
And then there's a newly proposed housing project, Tanglewood Village, with upscale condos and single-family homes near the city's Tanglewood Golf Course.
The chamber had 56 events with 2,700 attendees in 2018, including a business expo, career and college fair, annual banquet and the new Teacher Appreciation Banquet in August, attended by 350 educators.
"In 2019, we'll do the same kind of events," Tateosian said. "The Teacher Appreciation had a national speaker and this was motivational to them. We've got to retain those teachers."
The year 2018 brought 37 new chamber members. They also came to business breakfasts and business after-hour events, and the chamber hosted other groups including one that helps businesswomen network.
For more information about the chamber, go to callawaychamber.net or call 573-642-3055.