The Marion Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating milestones and our business community at its 101st annual awards celebration on June 24th, 2022 at the Pavilion in Marion (rescheduled from January 14).  The program will feature presentations by the Chamber, elected officials, and our 2021 award winners.

Members of the Marion Chamber of Commerce were asked to submit nominations in October for the Young Professional Leader Award. The Young Professional Leader Award is given to an individual who demonstrates excellence and initiative in their business or profession and is under the age of 40.

We are excited to announce the 2021 Young Professional Leader Award finalists are:

• AnnaMarie Cook
• Maci McCurdy
• Megan Regan

AnnaMarie Cook

AnnaMarie Cook is from the small town of Johnston City. She attended John A Logan College and then SIU where she was a Feature Twirler for 4 years. AnnaMarie resides in Marion with her husband Cory and their three children EmiliAnna, Cole, and AnnaBella. In 2018, AnnaMarie joined the Pepsi MidAmerica team as a Manager in Training. She was in this program for year before accepting the role as Director of Marketing. As Director of Marketing, she is over national brands such as Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper and many more. She works with 11 depots, in a 5-state territory area. With being head of marketing, AnnaMarie creates and implements promotions company-wide that help gain share and increase sales throughout each category of business that Pepsi MidAmerica entails.

A big part of AnnaMarie’s job is working on community projects and supporting charity programs. She enjoys volunteering at events that Pepsi MidAmerica supports, including a routine walker at most parades in the Southern Illinois area to represent PMA. She is heavily involved in marketing with athletics in the colleges and Universities that Pepsi MidAmerica services. Some of these universities include Southern Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, Murray State, Bethel, UT Martin, John A Logan, and SEMO university.

When it comes to Chamber involvement, AnnaMarie is very involved. She is an active Board Member for the Marion Chamber. She is also an active member for the Herrin Chamber, Carbondale Chamber and Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce. She is on several committees such as HerrinFesta, Live2Lead, marketing committee for Herrin and Marion, Grad Spree, Scholarship committee, annual dinner, awards, Golf Scramble, Sikeston Bootheel Rodeo, SEMO Fair and DuQuoin State Fair.

“I am humbled to be nominated for this award. I pride myself on relationships and leadership - my mentors here at Pepsi have really pushed me to be better leader. All in all, this means more than people will ever know. It is nice to feel noticed for the hard work and leadership qualities that I have gained and continue to gain.”

Maci McCurdy

Maci McCurdy is the owner of Magpie Market House located on Main Street in Downtown Marion.

In 2016, Maci, alongside her husband Cameron, created the vision for what is now Magpie Market House.

After opening the doors to Magpie Market House in December of 2016, Maci & Cameron have enjoyed being part of the downtown community & seeing revitalization take place over the last few years. In 2018, the retail shop branched out and held the first event “Magpie Market Days”, a vintage market featuring over 80 makers & artisans from over 14 states. The events are held at the Williamson County Fairgrounds. To date, Magpie Market Days has completed 7 market events, each one drawing an average of 11,000 people per event weekend to the downtown area. Planning is underway for an additional 3 events in 2022! Maci hopes to be a part of Marion’s wonderful small business community for many years to come & is humbled and honored to be considered for the Chamber’s Young Professional award. 



Megan Ragan

Megan Ragan is the Assistant Coordinator for Centerstone’s Trauma, Training and Treatment (CT3) grant, a project funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. After starting as an intern in May 2020, Megan has led the CT3 program to both achieve and exceed multiple grant goals including: training 2,600 community members and service providers in mental health-related practices/activities, establishing 49 collaborative partnerships as well as an advisory council with 100% of members reporting lived experience, and exposing nearly 200,000 individuals to mental health awareness messages. Additionally, Megan lead the CT3 team to enroll 129 children in the program between May 2020 and September 2021--- a number which represents 194% of Centerstone’s enrollment goal for the period.

Megan has accrued more than 300 hours of training in the subject of childhood trauma, traumatic stress, and mental health. After 10 years’ experience working with at-risk Southern Illinois children and families, she graduated with her Masters of Social Work from Louisiana State University in August 2021 and obtained her LSW (licensed social worker) certification in October 2021. Megan is experienced in multiple evidence-based trauma therapy practices and enjoys working with the community in a variety of capacities including direct services, community consultation, and training on the subject of trauma and resiliency. Megan is a highly-skilled, passionate presenter and has had the privilege to speak at multiple conferences including the 2021 IDHS Evidence-Based Practices Conference and the 2021 Illinois Student Counselor Association Conference.



Finally, Megan is a long-time Southern Illinois resident who can usually be found at home spending time with her husband and three beautiful children. 

Award Sponsor

The Distinguished Business Member Award finalists and winner are selected by the members of the Marion Chamber of Commerce Awards Committee.

The first Distinguished Business Award was given in 2017 to Clearwave Communications. Last year’s winner was Fowler Heating and Cooling.