Thriving Together
The Greater Avon Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2026 and, looking back, it’s been a whirlwind of growth and success.
Tom Downard, executive director of the Avon Chamber, can recall the early days when Avon was made up of a gas station on the corner — now the BP at Dan Jones and U.S. Highway 36 — and farmland as far as the eye could see.
He was involved in some of the first commercial developments with retail centers along U.S. 36, and he was there when Realtor Orville Woody began leading the effort to incorporate Avon and create the Greater Avon Chamber of Commerce.
“Orville Woody was a huge contributor and business collaborator in Avon. When the town became a town, he was at the forefront,” Downard said. “At the time, a few business owners were holding some quasi-meetings at various establishments, but we didn’t have a formal chamber organization.”
Woody would later receive the first Key to the Town in recognition of his contributions.
The goal was to get 100 businesses to join, and 114 signed up. The chamber was officially formed.
“At the time, we didn’t have a full-time staff. There was one part-time person to answer the phones and send emails,” Downard said. “A few years in, they were looking for a full-time executive director, and Woody and others approached me and asked if I’d have any interest in that.”
Downard was interested and has served as the executive director ever since, creating stable leadership at the Avon Chamber.
The chamber exists to assess the needs of local business owners and create programs, products and events to deliver strategic solutions for those needs. Members are constantly thinking of new ways to support businesses and advocate for a strong economy in Avon.
Today, there are just more than 260 members, and Downard said while the chamber continues to think of new ideas and ways to support businesses, they’ve found a few steadfast, successful events that continue to work.
This summer, the 21st annual Hendricks County Rib-Fest & BBQ will return June 27.
One of the top events in Hendricks County each year simply started out as a great way to bring the community together in Avon.
“It was held at Washington Township Park and was really put together in quick order. We were just looking for a community event to put on and our expectations were not super high,” Downard said. “I think that first one had 300-500 people attend and we were extremely impressed with the turnout, so we thought we might be on to something here.”
They were right. Every year, the Rib-Fest grows in attendance and entertainment, welcoming approximately 12,000 people to the event.
“Initially, we were happy with our small, Avon-focused community event but, as numbers grew, we knew fairly quickly this would be much bigger than that, and we kind of jumped in with both feet and made it a countywide event,” Downard said. “It’s the largest single-day event in the county on an annual basis.”
Other large events that got their start years ago for the chamber include the golf outing and the dinner auction, and they continue today. However, there are many events and resources offered on a smaller scale throughout the year as well.
“Programs come and go for a variety of reasons. We did community awards for several years, and it was very popular early on in the chamber’s existence. We’ve been pleased with the programming we put on, whether that be educational like a QuickBooks seminar or leadership seminar or our monthly luncheon,” Downard said. “The goal is to offer resource and education benefits to our local businesses.”
Downard said chambers of commerce are known as trusted sources of information. They also field phone calls from visitors and businesses planning a trip to Hendricks County. The chamber serves as a hub to provide businesses and residents information and promote Avon and the county as a whole.
One of the things Downard is most proud of is the collaboration all four chambers — Avon, Brownsburg, Danville and Plainfield — have formed over the years.
“It’s been about four years now that our four chambers received statewide recognition for our collaboration. That was really cool and we were happy to see that. It’s great to be able to work together and do things as a county together,” Downard said.
He imagines the future will hold even more collaboration for Hendricks County chambers.
“I think in the next 30 years, there’s a chance we’ll see a combined chamber for Hendricks County. They’ve done that in Hamilton County and Johnson County, where three or four communities banded together,” Downard said. “We dipped our toe in the water a few years ago and it didn’t happen, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it were a possibility in the future.
The success of local businesses depends on the hard work of business owners, but also a group effort from leaders in the community.
Downard appreciates the partnerships he has with one of the top school districts in the state, Avon Community School Corporation, and the Town of Avon.
“Avon is a little late to the game. There are other communities that have been around a lot longer, but I meet with Scott Wyndham, superintendent of Avon Schools, and we work together. A school district with decreasing population is a community dying,” Downard said. “The Town of Avon is building Easton Gray off U.S. 36, and there’s a potential that we would move to the town center building in the future. To have a prosperous community and growing community is really something to be thankful for.”
Most importantly, the chamber’s mission is to continue watching businesses in Avon grow and thrive for another 30 years.
Downard said 85% of chamber members have a small business with 1-10 employees.
“They have great stories to tell. They’ve launched a business for a myriad of different reasons and being able to help them along the way and promote their dreams is really fun,” Downard said. “To watch our community grow and see new businesses flourish has just been fantastic.”
