‘We were glad to find something downtown’

ROCHELLE — On Tuesday, a ribbon cutting event was held for Country Financial's new location at 501 N. 6th St. The business moved from its previous location to the newly-renovated space in April.

The insurance business, which is co-owned by representatives Josh Williams and Josh Messenger, was welcomed to its new space Tuesday by Rochelle Mayor John Bearrows, Rochelle Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tricia Herrera and members of the chamber, city and community.

Herrera said the ribbon cutting was a “celebration of change and expansion.” 

“We are very happy you guys chose to stay in downtown Rochelle,” Herrera said. “Thank you guys. This is a beautiful building. It was quite a renovation and change at this location. It's great to have you guys downtown as part of the community. You're very big supporters of things in Rochelle and we thank you for that. On behalf of the chamber, welcome. Josh Williams is our board vice president and is very involved in the chamber and a big supporter of it. We thank him for that.”

Williams said that he and Messenger searched “high and low” for a new space and were glad to find something downtown. The business didn’t have to move far, as its old location is just down the street. 

Williams said the renovation of the new space was “down to the studs.”

“We got all new windows,” Williams said. “Everything in this place is brand new. My dad did all the construction work here. It's a great location. We finally got our signage recently. We wanted to have that before the ribbon cutting. Thank you to everyone for coming and showing support.”

Messenger said that when he first walked into 501 N. 6th St., he was unsure about buying it due to how much work it needed.

“I'm glad it worked out and we're here to stay now,” Messenger said. “Because we own property here and we're going to be here. And we're happy to be here.”

Bearrows said he saw the building’s transformation first hand and said Messenger and Williams did “an amazing job.”

“You're not only local people that have a business here locally, but you saw the need and you wanted to invest in your local community,” Bearrows said. “Investing in our community is an important issue. You guys are partners in business, but you have other partners in the chamber and the city. If there's anything we can do or help with that's in our power, we're always happy to help businesses. Congratulations and I wish you many, many years of good success."