Get ready for ‘Showtime’

George Althoff
Executive Director

Save the date! The Baraboo Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Dinner and awards ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026, at the Baraboo Arts Banquet & Convention Center. This annual event draws 275 to 300 Chamber members and supporters and showcases some of our many great food and beverage vendors in the community.
The theme for this year’s event is “Showtime” and will highlight the efforts your Chamber undertook in 2025 to promote Baraboo as a premier tourism destination. The program will include a showing of the “Discover Wisconsin” episode that was produced earlier this year and premiered in 10 television markets in three states in October.
We will literally roll out a red carpet leading to a photo booth that will transform you and your fellow attendees into celebrities surrounded by dozens of paparazzi. The photo booth, which utilizes artificial intelligence, was created by Rick Markley of Aspect Multimedia. Rick will be on hand to make your night memorable.
Registration will open at 5:15 p.m. Social time with heavy hors d’oeuvres and beverages will run from 5:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the Ringling Room. Then the party will move to the Gollmar Room for our program, followed by the presentation of our awards for 2025 – Business of the Year, Tourism, Community Service, Rising Star, Nonprofit of the Year, the President’s Award, and the Chris Anderson Ambassador of the Year.
Businesses that are 2025 Partner Package sponsors already have a set number of tickets reserved for them. Platinum, Gold and Silver sponsors have tables of eight reserved, while the Bronze Level sponsors have four tickets reserved. We just need to know the names of those who will be attending. You can log that information directly into ChamberMaster, or you can email the names of your guests to memberrelations@baraboochamber.com. Please submit the names of your attendees by Jan. 9.
A limited number of sponsored tables of eight are available for $400, which includes pre-event publicity as a sponsor. If you are interested in a table sponsorship, please contact me or Ben Bromley at 608-356-8333. Individual tickets cost $40. You can register here. Please sign up early, because seating is limited.

Nominate someone for an award!
We have extended the deadline for award nominations to Friday, Dec. 19. Self-nominations are accepted. We only ask that you include some justification for the nomination on the form. Don’t be bashful! Sell the nomination!
Here are the details of the nomination process:

• Nominations are now open for Business of the Year, Tourism, Community Service, Nonprofit of the Year, and Rising Star awards. The criteria for those awards can be found below. A link to the nomination form can be found here.
• Any member in good standing is eligible to nominate another member business or individual for any of the awards. A member also can self-nominate in any of the categories.
• If you do submit a nomination, please drop me a confirmation email at director@
  baraboochamber.com.
• The deadline for nominations is Friday, Dec. 19.
• Board President Shelley Mordini will appoint an awards selection committee and the names of those committee members will be made public prior to the nomination deadline.
• The names of the award nominees will be communicated to all members the week of Dec. 22.
• By early January, the selection committee will consider the nominations and decide the recipients for each of the five awards. The identities of the recipients will not be announced prior to the annual dinner.
• For a complete list of past recipients in all categories, click here.
  If you have questions about this or any other chamber matter, please contact me at director@baraboochamber.com or 608-356-8333.