Altus Community Foundation

We love the annual Spooky Town Celebration!

This past Friday, 2 members of our Chamber board of directors, Monica Taylor and Emory Allen presented a candy donation to the Altus Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 120 for their spooky town event coming up on Halloween night down at Safety Town.

Thank you for your hard work to make this fun and safe event possible for our children year after year!

🌟 Member Spotlight 🌟 Butchee Beef and Cattle

What pairs well with beautiful fall weather and football season? Fresh, locally raised beef of course!

Whether you’re looking for the most tender filets to toss on the grill during the big game, a roast for the crockpot, or the most flavorful beef for chili or stew, they have you covered!

John Dee and Dana Butchee with Butchee Beef offer a variety of mouthwatering options of steak cuts, briskets and more that they raise locally just north of town.

Not only do they stand behind their product, but they also provide delivery to the Altus area and to Altus Air Force Base!

Call John Dee to place your order today!
📞 580-471-7937.

We promise you’ll put his number on speed dial after your first order! 😋 🥩

🎉 Welcome our newest member!

Please join us in welcoming Jeffrey & Koree Lewis of VelocIT Solutions to the Altus Chamber of Commerce!

Based in Hollis, VelocIT Solutions helps businesses across Southwest Oklahoma and North Texas build a stronger online presence while keeping their technology running smoothly and securely.

VelocIT Solutions creates clean, fast, custom websites designed to help local businesses get found online and turn visitors into customers. 🔐 Need IT support? From Microsoft 365 and email setup to cybersecurity, data backups, password management, and employee phishing training, Jeffrey helps businesses of all sizes stay connected and protected.

We are excited to have VelocIT Solutions as part of the Chamber Network! Help us give them a warm welcome!

📱580-448-0553

🥁 Introducing a new, fun initiative at the Chamber! WHAT and WHO puts Altus on the map?!? We love to learn more about the history of our community and its people! We also want to share those interesting facts with our citizens and our friends at AAFB.

How this information is collected and shared is up to YOU! Know someone famous or impactful from Altus? Have a cool piece of Altus history to share? Post it in the comments below, or email us at [email protected] . We think you’ll be surprised at just how many cool things and people there are that have made Altus a unique town worth exploring.❤️

🎉 We’ll kick things off by sharing some info about a former Altus citizen, David Green, the founder of Hobby Lobby.🤩 This information was shared by an Altus resident and details were sourced from Wikipedia.

David Green grew up in Altus, Oklahoma, where his father was a Christian pastor with a congregation of 35. All five of his siblings are pastors or pastors' wives. He asserts that he has built his business on biblical principles. Green is very supportive of Christian organizations, and is one of the largest individual donors to Evangelical causes in the United States. David commits half of Hobby Lobby's total pretax earnings to a portfolio of evangelical ministries, and as of 2012, he had donated an estimated $500 million.

Green lives in southwest Oklahoma City with his wife, Barbara. Hobby Lobby is owned by them and their three children. The eldest son, Mart Green, is the founder and CEO of the Mardel Christian & Education book store and Every Tribe Entertainment. Steve Green is president of Hobby Lobby, as well as founder and primary funder of the Museum of the Bible, and patron of the Green Collection. Daughter Darsee Lett is Creative Director for the Hobby Lobby stores.

How it all started: In 1970, while a store manager with variety store chain TG&Y, Green took a $600 loan and started a home business in his garage assembling and selling miniature picture frames, with a partner, Larry Pico. The business, Greco Products, capitalized on a decorating fad of the time. Eventually, Green bought out Pico and staffed a small factory with people with cerebral palsy, paying ten cents per frame. By August 1972, the focus was on arts and crafts, and the business had thrived to such an extent that Green and his wife were able to open a 300 square-foot store in northwest Oklahoma City called Hobby Lobby. In 1975, Green left his 13-year career with TG&Y and opened a second Hobby Lobby location with 6,000 square feet of space.

In 2017, Green and co-author Bill High published Giving It All Away...And Getting It All Back Again, which discusses Green's belief that tithing secures God's protection and highlights God's focus on future generation, an aspect of prosperity theology.

Hobby Lobby is a household name we all know and love. Did YOU know it all started with a young man who was raised right here in Altus?

We can’t wait to learn more and share more about the history, culture and people who helped shape Altus or put us on the map. Drop your interesting Altus facts below! ⬇️

🌟 Member Spotlight 🌟 Kincannon Funeral Home

At Kincannon Funeral Home, their family is honored to serve your family with trust, honor, dignity, and compassion.

Their mission is simple: to meet families where they are and walk alongside them, creating tailored services that reflect each person and each family.

The staff at Kincannon provides personalized funeral and cremation services, customized funeral pre-planning, monuments, and memorialization options designed around your wishes—not a one-size-fits-all approach.

“Our family serving your family, every step of the way.” Thank you Kincannon Funeral Home for your compassion for our citizens.

📍 Located at 3020 N. Main in Altus.

Right in the heart of Altus on the west side of the downtown square!

Altus Football Fans, did you know Jersey Mike's runs a special during football season?! Wear your Bulldog shirt into the Altus Jersey Mike's location and get a free drink and chips with your sub purchase! 🏈💙

We love when local businesses support our community! Be sure to set your reminders to eat Jersey Mike's on Fridays!

Jersey Mike's Subs
📍2221 N Main St

So proud of our Preston!

The Altus Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board, Monica Taylor presented the 2026 Spirit of Altus Award to Preston Gunkel at last weekend’s Chamber Gala.

When we think about the spirit of Altus, we think about people who believe in this community—not just people who talk about making Altus better, but people who show up and get to work.

Preston is one of those people.

He has built a respected career, earned recognition across the state, and taken on leadership roles that have given him a platform far beyond our community. But through all of that success, he has never forgotten where he came from. He has never outgrown Altus, and he has never stopped believing that his hometown is worth investing in.

Preston has served on boards, chaired committees, helped organizations become stronger, and represented Altus throughout Oklahoma and beyond. But what truly sets him apart is the way he serves.

He doesn't just take a seat at the table. He gets up and gets to work.

He volunteers for the job nobody else wants. He shows up early, stays late, gathers donations, sets tables, helps clean up—and when something needs to be done, he doesn't wait to see whose job it is. He makes it happen.

But perhaps what makes Preston's impact most meaningful is that he doesn't do these things for recognition. He does them because he cares.

He cares about this community. He cares about its people. And he believes in leaving Altus a little better than he found it.
His professional success may take him beyond Altus at times, but his heart never leaves. Wherever Preston goes, he carries Altus with him. He represents us, advocates for us, and brings attention to our community—and then he comes home and gets back to work.

The Spirit of Altus shines brightly through Preston Gunkel.

Congratulations again, Preston, on receiving the 2026 Spirit of Altus Award! We are grateful for your leadership, your service, and your unwavering commitment to the community you call home.