ELMHURST CHAMBER HONORS “ROOKIE” AS AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR
ELMHURST, Ill., December 17, 2009 – Chelle O’Connell will be recognized as Ambassador of the Year for 2009 at the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s 91st Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner held in the Presidential Room at the Diplomat West Banquet Halls (681 West North Avenue) on Friday, January 15, from 6 to 9 p.m.
The award is presented annually to a member of the green-coated Chamber Ambassadors for his/her outstanding service.
“Chelle is the type of committed member that Chambers need to be vibrant and successful,” said John Quigley, Elmhurst Chamber President and CEO since 1999, “and she’s selflessly extended her service to quickly become as fixture as an Ambassador.”
While new to the Ambassadors in 2009, O’Connell has been active with the Chamber since 2002, when she moved to Elmhurst from upstate New York.
An individual member who consults on marketing, O’Connell has represented Chamber members Bridgeway of Bensenville (Community Outreach Coordinator) and Elmhurst YMCA (Membership and Marketing Director). In 2004, she began a four-year tenure as Executive Director of the Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce.
O’Connell is a seventh-year member of the Elmhurst Chamber’s Marketing Committee and has served on numerous special event committees—even while she was overseeing chamber activities in Park Ridge.
Ambassadors represent the Chamber at numerous member business functions, including ribbon cuttings (working under a captain in three teams of 10), grand openings, anniversaries and other celebrations and special events. The group is comprised mostly of current and former members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
Established in 1918, the Elmhurst Chamber is a voluntary organization of business and professional men and women who have joined together for the purpose of promoting the civic and commercial progress of the 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.