Cable TV Producer, Author and Community Volunteer Genie Urick of Elmhurst will be honored as the 2018 inductee into the exclusive Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Civic Hall of Fame.
Urick will become the Hall of Fame’s 27th member during the induction ceremony at the Chamber’s 100th Annual Awards Gala held in the main floor ballroom at The Drake Oak Brook Hotel in Oak Brook on Friday, January 25, from 5 to 9 p.m.
“Genie is one of those rare individuals who are happy to work behind the scenes to accomplish great things so that others may stand in the limelight,” said John R. Quigley, ECCI President and CEO since 1999, and active in the Elmhurst Chamber for 28 years.
Urick worked closely with the Elmhurst Chamber during her decades of service as the City of Elmhurst’s Cable Television Coordinator (starting in 1982) and Producer of Elmhurst Our Kind of Town, which began as a monthly local cable TV access program.
For nearly two decades, EOKT has aired coverage of annual ECCI’s Awards Gala and “State of Our City” Mayoral Address Membership Breakfast, and Elmhurst’s annual Memorial Day Parade, St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Veterans Day Memorial Ceremony on Comcast Channel 6 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99. Elmfest was among EOKT’s featured programs during the 1990s through the community festival’s end in 2008.
Urick has produced more than 1,400 cable TV programs, ranging from EOKT to “Newsline Elmhurst,” from “Elmhurst NOW” to “Time Travelers.”
“The level of professional coverage that Genie and her crew has provided over the years to our Chamber and many other organizations in Elmhurst is unmatched for local access,” stated Quigley, who serves as EOKT co-anchor for both the Dan Gibbon’s Turkey Trot Foundation 5K Run and St. Pat’s Parade.
Urick is co-author of “The First Ladies of Elmhurst: Prominent Women of the Twentieth Century,” with Ruth Strand, who died before the book published in 2001.
Long active in the Ray Graham Association, Urick received the Professional Leadership Award (1998) for “striving for a better tomorrow” and is a two-time Excellence in Volunteerism Award honoree (1996 and 1997).
Urick is among the Founding Parents who established the Reality is Respect, Appreciation and Fulfillment (RRAF) Day Program for young adults with autism and developmental challenges, and a RRAF Volunteer Support Award recipient.
Active in the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Elmhurst branch, Urick was awarded a national Research and Projects Grant in 1987 to start a Sunday Recreation Program for autistic children at the Elmhurst Community Center.
Urick was named an Educational Foundation honoree in 1984, with the Elmhurst AAUW establishing a Grant Fellowship in her name.
While serving on the Bicentennial Project Committee, the Elmhurst AAUW produced an acclaimed booklet, “Elmhurst: Origin of Names, Streets, Parks and Landmarks,” with Urick contributing the illustrations.
Urick became the first female recipient of the Elmhurst College Bluejay Backers’ Community Service Award for her crucial role in expanding the cable TV coverage of EC’s intercollegiate athletic programs.
The Civic Hall of Fame, which was established in 1992, recognizes women and men who make major contributions to the Elmhurst community. Up through 2008, inductions were conducted during the Opening Ceremonies of Elmfest. The 2009 inductee was honored at the Chamber’s Spring Luncheon in April of 2010.
The late Joe Newton, legendary boys’ cross country coach at York Community High School was the inaugural Hall of Fame inductee.
Preceding Island as Hall of Fame inductees were: Eleanor King Hookam (1993), Elmhurst Art Museum; Dr. Ivan E. Frick (1994), Elmhurst College; Joseph Wagner (1995), York Furrier; Jean Haselhorst (1996), Elmhurst Park District; Robert M. Magnuson (1997), Elmhurst Memorial Hospital; Virginia J. Harmon (1998), Unique Travel Services; Illinois House of Representative Lee A. Daniels (R-46th District) (1999); A.J. “Toche” Terrones (2000), Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry; William C. “Bill” Gooch Jr. (2001), Community Bank of Elmhurst; Willis Johnson (2002), York Theatre; Fred Messerschmidt (2003), Elmhurst Federal Savings & Loan; Jim Van Ewyk (2004), Pfund and Clint Florists; Jacquelyn Haddad (2005), Elmhurst Junior Women’s Club; Thomas O. Myers Jr. (2006), Thomas O. Myers Real Estate; Abner Ganet (2007), Leonard’s Men’s Store and Mayor of Elmhurst; Jan Pauli (2008), Pauli’s Marathon; Bob Schiller (2009), Schiller Real Estate; Thomas D. Marcucci, four-term Mayor of Elmhurst (2010); Rich Grodsky, Elmhurst Park District (2011); Pete Cruger, Elmhurst Independent (2012); Doug Beach, Elmhurst College Jazz Band Director (2013); Betsy Hanisch, Elmhurst businesswomen, civic leader and community volunteer (2014); Ralph Pechanio (2015), retired banker, civic leader and community volunteer; Darrell Whistler, retired businessman, civic leader and community volunteer; and Jack Island (2017), Owner of The Silverado Grill.
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 Chamber’s mission 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.