ELMHURST, Ill., November 5, 2012 – Five incumbents are among the seven recently-elected members of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors will be sworn in to serve their three-year terms at the Board’s meeting at Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road) on November 20.
The seven Directors were elected from a field of nine candidates in October by the Chamber membership, which cast 139 valid ballots.
“As is typical, only a few votes separated the last Directors elected from the last couple of candidates,” said John Quigley, the Chamber’s President and CEO since 1999.
The Board is comprised of 21 elected Directors serving three-year terms, plus three Ex-Officio Directors. Directors are limited to serving two consecutive elected terms, not counting years as an appointee or as a post-term Past Chairperson.
“Our Chamber is blessed to have well qualified individuals willing to serve on the Board of Directors,” said Quigley. “Five of the newly-elected Directors were already serving on the Board, including a member of the Executive Committee.”
Newly elected Directors are (in alphabetical order):
Mark Daniel, Attorney at Law and Owner of Daniel Law Office, P.C.;
Timothy Gurrie, a Pampered Chef Consultant since 2010;
Michael Himmes, Assistant Vice President, Commercial Banking, at MB Financial Bank;
Dee Longfellow, Editorial Coordinator for Rock Valley Publishing/Elmhurst Independent;
Tracy Musso, Manager of Development at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare;
Chuck Thomas, Senior Vice President at Inland Bank; and
Heather Winter, Director of Constituency Relations at Elmhurst College.
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Following is a brief biography for each of the Directors:
Mark Daniel
Mark Daniel, Attorney at Law and Owner of Daniel Law Office, P.C., since 2009, is a first-term elected Director.
Prior to starting his own law office, Daniel was a Member (1996-2009) at Rathje & Woodward, LLC, in Wheaton and an Associate (1994-96) at Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Daniel has chaired the DuPage County Bar Association’s Government Committee (2009-10) and has been active in the Westmont, Naperville and East-West chambers of commerce.
In 2007, Chicago magazine named Daniel among the Super Lawyers in the fields of civil litigation, land use and real estate.
Daniel serves on the Elmhurst Public Schools District 205 Advisory Committee, is a Board member of the DuPage American Cancer Society and was on the Board (2006-09) of the Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Girls Scouts Council.
He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate (1994) of The John Marshall Law School and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (1990) in Applied Life Sciences from the University of Illinois in Champaign.
Daniel is a 10-year resident of Elmhurst.
Timothy Gurrie
Timothy Gurrie, a Pampered Chef Consultant since 2010 with 40 years of experience in business and sales, is a first-term elected Director.
Gurrie is a two-year member of the Chamber’s green-coated Ambassadors and was active in the Chamber and former Elmhurst Economic Development Commission (EEDC) during his earlier years in Elmhurst as a community banker.
Gurrie also has served the chambers of commerce in Burbank and Homer, respectively, as a Director and Ambassador.
Prior to Pampered Chef, Gurrie served as a Vice President and Bank Manager for various retail banks, including two in Elmhurst, served in various national and regional retail sales and commercial leasing positions, and even co-owned a travel agency that is still in business today.
He also has served as President of his homeowners association.
Gurrie holds Associate degrees in both commercial art and advertising.
He is a 38-year resident of Downers Grove.
Michael Himmes
Michael Himmes, Assistant Vice President, Commercial Banking, at MB Financial Bank since 2010, is a second-term elected Director.
In 2009, Himmes became the fourth former Elmhurst College JOBPATH student intern since 2004 to be elected to the Chamber Board.
Himmes served on the Governmental Affairs Committee in 2012 after years of service on the Ways and Means Committee.
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As a Chamber intern (2002-03), Himmes worked on such major Chamber events as Elmfest and Annual Meeting/Silent Auction.
His resume includes five-plus years at then Harris Bank in multiple positions and one year at Citadel Investment Group as a Settlement Specialist.
He is a member of the Elmhurst Jaycees.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate (B.A.) from Elmhurst College, he has participated in the Center for Professional Excellence’s (CPE) Shadow Program since 2008.
He is a 27-year resident of Villa Park.
Dee Longfellow
Dee Longfellow, Editorial Coordinator for Rock Valley Publishing/Elmhurst Independent, is a second-term elected Director who served as Treasurer on the 2012 Executive Committee and chaired the Ways and Means Committee.
Longfellow previously served on the Chamber Board (1988-89) while representing the former Holiday Inn Elmhurst.
She also is the former Program Director for the Northwest & Schaumburg Association of Commerce & Industry (NASCI), a regional chamber where she planned the annual gala, golf outing, job fair and other special events.
Prior to NASCI, Longfellow ran her own public relations and marketing company for small businesses and individuals.
She is a Founding Board member, Past President (1997) and Former Publicity Chair of the Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation (ECAF), and a former member, Publicity Chair and Newsletter Editor of the Elmhurst Lions Club.
Longfellow is a graduate (B.A.) of Augustana College in South Dakota.
She is a resident of Villa Park and former Elmhurst resident (1985-97).
Tracy Musso
Tracy Musso, Manager of Development at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare since 2010, is a first-term elected Director who was appointed in 2011 to fill a Board vacancy.
Musso also served on the Marketing Committee in 2012.
Prior to EMHC, Musso held fundraising and development positions at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
She is a member, Board member and a Past Chair of the Hinsdale Junior Woman’s Club, and has served on the Hinsdale Historical Society and Addison Mayoral Ball committees.
Musso earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from the University of Utah.
She currently resides in Hinsdale.
Chuck Thomas
Chuck Thomas, a Senior Vice President of Inland Bank with 30 years of experience in community banking in the Elmhurst area, is a first-term elected Director who was appointed in 2011 to fill a Board vacancy.
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During the 1990s, Thomas served as the Chamber Board’s President (now Chair) and chaired the former Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation (EEDC).
He also was a member and Treasurer on the Glen Ellyn Economic Development Corporation (2007-11).
Thomas has been a member of the Rotary Club of Elmhurst since 1995 and currently chairs the Club’s Foundation.
He previously served on Elmhurst College’s Community Development Board.
Thomas is a graduate (1978) of the College of St. Scholastica.
He is a 25-year resident of Roselle.
Heather Winter
Heather Winter, Director of Constituency Relations at Elmhurst College since 2007, is a second-term elected Director.
Winter is a member of the Governmental Affairs Committees in Elmhurst and with both the Greater O’Hare Association of Commerce & Industry and Downers Grove Area Chamber of Commerce. She also serves on the Lombard Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Education Committee.
She is a member of the College of DuPage’s Partnership for College and Career Success Committee and DuPage High School District’s Business Partner Committee.
Her resume in education includes work at the College of DuPage as Manager of the Academy for Non-Profit Excellence (2004-07) and Tech Prep/Gender Equity Coordinator (2001-04), and at the Kane County Regional Office of Education as Technology Program Coordinator (2000-01).
She is a member of the Elmhurst Kiwanis Club and Villa Park Rotary Club.
Winter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (1992) in Political Science from Benedictine University in Lisle.
She currently resides in Chicago.
Established in 1918, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry is a voluntary organization of business and professional men and women who have joined together to promote the civic and commercial progress of the community.
The mission of the Elmhurst Chamber is to promote an environment that creates success for local businesses and our community.
The Chamber also serves the needs of its members through services, programs and events that provide opportunities for networking and referral, business education, development and promotion, governmental representation and community involvement.
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