Momentum grows in Arcola through Chamber and Rotary collaboration
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By Ben Crane
A renewed wave of civic and economic engagement is beginning to reshape Arcola’s community landscape, as local volunteers and business leaders take a hands-on approach to revitalization through the city’s Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.
Much of the work has been driven by coordinated outreach efforts from longtime business mentor and civic leader Mick Howrey, who currently serves as president of the Arcola Rotary Club and director of economic development for the Arcola Chamber.
“I’m not looking for a piece about me,” Howrey said. “I’m not trying to promote myself in any way, shape or form… that’s not what I want to have done here.”
After graduating from Arcola High School and spending decades away pursuing his education and business career, Howrey said he never expected to return—until life steered him home.
“I didn’t think I’d ever come back, but circumstances changed, and I came back several years ago,” he said. “I realized that I really do care about Arcola. A lot of things about Arcola. And my roots were here.”
Since returning, Howrey has immersed himself in civic service—from working with dementia caregivers at Carriage Crossing to mentoring entrepreneurs through Eastern Illinois University’s Small Business Development Center. Those experiences, he said, have given him clarity of purpose.
“God gave me a purpose for my life, I believe, even at this age—my old age—and that purpose is to spend my time, whatever time I have left, volunteering and trying to help other people,” he said.
That purpose soon led him to take on formal roles with the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, where he saw untapped potential for renewed activity and leadership.
“I saw needs there—maybe leadership, maybe reinvigoration, maybe activity,” Howrey said. “Just a chance for somebody like me to get involved and maybe stimulate some things or cause some things to happen.”
His approach has been both personal and persistent: knocking on doors, walking the streets, and listening directly to the concerns of business owners.
“One of the things I hear most often is, ‘What’s the Chamber going to do for me? Why would I give the Chamber money?’” Howrey said. “That’s a fair question. So I found in my mind, one of the things we need to do is show them what the Chamber is willing to do.”
To address that disconnect, Howrey has helped organize a series of community conversations and networking events where business owners can meet, share ideas, and learn about local initiatives. The goal, he said, is not only to foster relationships, but to build awareness of what’s already happening in and around Arcola.
“I wanted them to meet Daisy [Pimentel] and see what Daisy has done [at Shae’s] and will be doing,” he said. “And I really wanted the people in Arcola to know about the Bruin Palace. I was so pleased that I was able to get Pat [Monahan] and Lisa [Boyer] there to talk. And I was so pleased that Stephanie McMahon… talked about Douglas County Economic Development, because people don’t really know what’s going on.”
They spoke at a Chamber Social Hour at Shae’s, were community leaders, business owners, and stakeholders met for some snack and drink, as well as share what is currently happening and what will happen in Douglas County in the future.
Pimentel spoke about a new menu at Shae’s, while Boyer and Monahan talked about the Broom Palace and what they have planned post-construction.
McMahon spoke on what happening at the DCEDC, along with some progressing developments with the potential FuFeng and Cronus projects, and what they could mean for Arcola.
Future gatherings will include speakers from Coles County and beyond, as Howrey and other organizers look to expand Arcola’s presence within a growing regional network of economic collaboration.
“My next evolution of all this is working with the district governor for Rotary, and we have 22 counties,” he said. “My job as an ambassador, which I think I kind of am, is I talk to anybody who will listen, and I talk to them about Arcola. That’s just what I do.”
Though Howrey describes himself as someone who’s not naturally outgoing, he says the mission drives him every day.
“By nature, I’m not an outgoing, bubbly type guy,” he said. “But every day, when I get up and I thank God that I’m up… I put on this demeanor that says, ‘You’re going to go out, you’re going to talk to people. You’re going to represent Arcola.’”
Part of that representation includes two new initiatives that Howrey and a small team of collaborators are preparing to launch—projects he said will start in Arcola and, if successful, expand across multiple counties.
“The inaugural site will be Arcola, Illinois,” Howrey said. “And when Arcola works well, we’re going to roll it out to a certain number of counties… and then if it’s really successful, we’re going to roll it out to the state.”
Though he’s not yet ready to disclose full details, Howrey said the programs will focus on business development, community volunteerism, and engaging younger generations.
“They’re going to promote business. They’re going to promote citizen activity in a volunteer way,” he said. “I have great faith in the younger generation… I think there’s a lot this old generation—the boomers—can share, because there’s a lot you all want to know and do.”
Howrey credits a single moment of clarity earlier this year as the spark for the upcoming projects.
“I was driving home from Effingham after a two-day event… and for some reason—a kernel of an idea came to me,” he said. “By the time I got home that Sunday night, I had formulated a concept and put it on paper the next day.”
That concept has since evolved into a detailed plan, backed by what Howrey calls “reassurance and excitement” from others involved.
“I’ve talked to enough people… yeah, it’s got legs,” he said. “I’ve run it all the way up to the top level where it needs to be looked at and been blessed. So yeah, it’s going to work.”
For Howrey, the work remains deeply personal.
“I want Arcola to be proud of me,” he said. “I want Arcola to be proud of the Howrey name, because we don’t have much of a legacy around here. And if I can make an impact and some people will remember the Howrey name in the future, that’s good. I like that.”
Ultimately, he sees his efforts as part of something much larger than himself.
“I don’t take credit for really anything that I do,” he said. “I believe that I’ve been given the purpose, and I’ve been given the gifts or the talents… it’s really not me. It’s coming from somewhere else and just being channeled through me.”
For now, the focus stays local. The projects, the conversations, the hours spent connecting people—each effort, Howrey said, is part of a broader commitment to making Arcola stronger, more connected, and better prepared for what comes next.