Elmhurst Chamber News & Notes

Director and Officer Elections
Jim Dinkle of The Jim Dinkle Company (14210 Augusta Court, Dubuque, Iowa), Dare Messina of Keller Williams Realty (112 South York Street) and Joe Skibbie of Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road) were elected by the Elmhurst Chamber’s Board of Directors in November to serve as Chairperson, First Vice Chairperson and Second Vice Chairperson for 2005-06, respectively, while Debra Klosterman of Catalano Mortgage Team of American Home Mortgage (112 South York Street) was appointed Treasurer by the new Chair with approval from the Board.

In the October election for seven Director positions, Dinkle, Messina, Hosi Mehta of Mehta Motors (463 Spring Road) and Cyndy Crider of Fifth Third Bank (105 South York Street) were re-elected to three-year terms, while Todd Benson of Castco Communications (391 River Glen Avenue), Pete DiCianni of DiCianni Graphics (421 South Addison Road, Addison), and Scott Levin of Defrees & Fiske LLC (200 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 1100, Chicago) joined the Board for their first terms.

Chamber Anniversaries
The following seven businesses are celebrating Chamber Anniversaries in November:

10 Years—Elmhurst Academy of Early Learning (212 West Lake Street) and Dynamic Electronic Services (770 North Church Road, Suite I); and

5 Years—Great Lakes Lab Rescue (105 East Vallette Street, PMB #1175), DiCianni Graphics (421 South Addison Road, Addison), Law Offices of Jeffrey L. Whitcomb (100 South York Street, Suite 200), John Sakash Company (700 Walnut Street) and 100 South Chop House and Grill (100 South York Street).

In addition, Betsy Hanisch is marking her fifth year as an individual member after years as a business member through Western Slate and then Fire Facilities.

Business After Hours
Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road) and The David Agency Insurance (385 North York Street) will co-host the Chamber’s Annual Holiday Business After Hours at Community Bank on Tuesday, December 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Membership Breakfast
River Forest Country Club (15W468 Grand Avenue) will host the Chamber’s Membership Breakfast on Thursday, December 8, from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.

New Members
The following three businesses joined the Chamber in the past two weeks:

Caribou Coffee Elmhurst (275 North York Street), coffee shop, Carrie Dezwaan, 833-3552;

Christopher’s Restaurant (691 North York Road), restaurant, Faisal Bozonolos, 530-1890; and

Grasse Beautiful Living, Inc. (115 East Schiller Street), home furnishings, home dйcor and gifts, Alexis Presto-Simic, 359-0975.

Newsmakers
LaSalle Bank is sponsoring a collection drive through November 23 at its downtown branch (205 North Addison Avenue) and south Elmhurst location (100 South York Street) for donations of much-needed items to send care packages to American soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Call 941-6634 for more info.

Elmhurst Firestone (463 North York Street) is serving as a Toys for Tots collection site through December 22 for new, unwrapped toys for needy children.  Call 834-3131 for more info.

Valerie Bruggeman, Director, External Affairs, SBC Illinois (225 West Wesley, Wheaton) was among 22 female business owners and executives honored as “Influential Women in Business” for 2005 by The Business Ledger (600 Enterprise Drive, Suite 100, Oak Brook) at an October 26 luncheon in Glen Ellyn.  Comcast (2001 South York Road, Oak Brook) and York Furrier (107 North York Street) were among the Gold Sponsors.

The Friends of the Arts Program at Elmhurst College (190 Prospect Avenue) will benefit from a new opportunity that will allow businesses to underwrite/sponsor 24-hour video bulletin board broadcasts over the College’s closed circuit cable system of 443 monitors campus-wide.  Call Kim Delinksi at 617-6458 for more info.

Special Events
Bruce Feller, author of “Abraham:  A Journey to the Heart of Three Faith,” will present the annual Braham Joshua Herschel Lecture in the Founders Lounge at Elmhurst College’s Frick Center on Sunday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m.  Call 617-3033 for more info.

Tom Kallay, Community Relations Director at Nicor Gas (90 North Finley Road, Glen Ellyn), and Bruce Mather, Executive Director of Facilities Management at Elmhurst College, will deliver a 2005-06 Elmhurst College Speaker Series lecture on “Saving Energy and Money in the Winter Months” in the Founders Lounge at Elmhurst College’s Frick Center on Thursday, November 17, at 7:00 p.m.  Call 617-3033 for more info.

The Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra (P.O. Box 345) will present its second concert of the 2005-06 season, titled “The Symphony Swings,” at Elmhurst College’s Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel on Sunday, November 20, at 3:00 p.m.  Call 941-0202 for more info or visit www.elmhurstsymphony.org.

The Lincoln Park Brass will usher in the holiday season with a festive “Holiday Fanfare,” including Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker at Bethel United Church of Christ (315 East St. Charles Road) on Monday, December 5, at 7:30 p.m.  Call 279-4040 for more info.

Elmhurst Camera (535 Spring Road), along with the students and faculty of the Department of Education at Elmhurst College, will host Special Kids Day with Santa for children with special needs and their families on Wednesday, December 7, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.  Local sponsors include DiCianni Graphics, Castco Communications, Elmhurst Independent (533 South York Street, Unit E), Elmhurst Newcomers and Neighbors Club (P.O. Box 416), the Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation (P.O. Box 291), Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst (P.O. Box 729), Elmhurst Jaycees (P.O. Box 235), City of Elmhurst (209 North York Street), Elmhurst City Centre (2 City Centre), Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 (130 West Madison Street), Elmhurst Park District (225 Prospect Avenue), Elmhurst Police Department (125 East First Street) and Benevolent Association, Voo’s Corner (539 Spring Road) and the Chamber.  Call 834-400 for more info or visit www.specialkidsday.org.

Lifelink (331 South York Road, Bensenville) will conduct its annual Holiday Gala at the Wyndham Drake Hotel in Oak Brook on Friday, December 9, from 6:30 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.  Tickets are $125.00 per person.  Call 521-8048 to RSVP by November 28 or visit www.lifelink.org.

The exhibit “Depicting Elmhurst” will go on display at the Elmhurst Historical Museum (120 East Park Avenue) starting Tuesday, December 13.  Call 833-1457 for more info.