ELMHURST CHAMBER HONORS MEMBERSHIP VOLUNTEER AS AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR
ELMHURST, Ill., January 20, 2009 – Retired businessman Howard Schreiber will be recognized as Ambassador of the Year for 2008 at the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s 90th Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon held in the Presidential Room at the Diplomat West Banquet Halls (681 West North Avenue) on Wednesday, January 28, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
The award is presented annually to a member of the green-coated Chamber Ambassadors for his/her outstanding service.
A long-time Ambassador and VP of Membership, the 94-year-old Schreiber has served the Chamber as a volunteer for nearly two decades.
“It is an honor to receive this award and I am truly grateful,” said Schreiber.
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.
“Howard is the epitome of who a Chamber Ambassador is supposed to be,” said John Quigley, Chamber President and CEO. “His attendance at ribbon-cuttings for new members and other Chamber events is commendable, and he proudly wears his green jacket at Membership Breakfast, Business After Hours and Chamber luncheons.”
A long-time resident of Elmhurst, Schreiber attends Fist Congregational United Church of Christ in Elmhurst and is a 20-member of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst. He also serves Elmhurst College as a volunteer and has served on the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra’s Board of Directors, including President for three years.
Cancer has claimed the lives of each of Schreiber’s three wives, including Betty in 2008 in the 18th year of their marriage.
Schreiber graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School in 1932, three years after the start of the Depression (1929), and never attended college. His father lost his job after 29 years, leaving the Schreiber family “pretty much destitute.”
During high school, Schreiber earned 25 cents per hour at National Tea Store, washing windows, prepping fruits and vegetables for display, and dishing out butter and peanut butter from large wooden barrels.
After graduating high school, Schreiber eventually found work at Continental Bank as a Page in the Trust Department, earning $10 per week. He then became a bookkeeper, cashier and repo man for General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC).
When World War II broke out, Howard took a job at a B-29 Bomber munitions plant in LaPorte, Ind., and then joined Dodge Manufacturing Corporation, which made engines for B-29 Superfortress, the U.S.’s first long-range heavy bomber.
Following the war, Schreiber worked at 4A Manufacturing for 15 years, finishing as Vice President of Sales, which involved products such as television cabinets. He then served 10 years as President of Chicago Etching Corporation, which did etching and chrome plating. After that, he formed Howard Schreiber & Associates, which included his son-in-law, and represented 10 manufacturers in the plastics industry.
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.
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