ELMHURST CHAMBER ELECTS NEW DIRECTORS
ELMHURST, Ill., November 10, 2010 – Six of the seven newly-elected members of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors were sworn in to serve their three-year terms at the Board’s meeting at Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road) on November 9.
The seven Directors were elected from a field of eight candidates in October by the Chamber membership, which cast 198 ballots (187 valid).
“As is typical, only a few votes separated the last Directors elected from the last handful of candidates, and a recount was needed to confirm the seventh Director’s seat” said John Quigley, the Chamber’s President and CEO since 1999.
The Board is comprised of 21 elected Directors serving three-year terms (although a tie in the 2008 election added a 22nd Director’s seat), 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. “Three Directors were already serving on the Board, including an Executive Committee member, and a Past Chair has rejoined us.”
Newly elected Directors are (in alphabetical order):
Mary Ahart, Sales Representative with Matrix Payment Systems since 2008;
Charity Ahlgrim, Vice President and Business Development Officer at Community Bank of Elmhurst since 2005;
Jackie Hayden, Executive Sales Agent with Weiss Insurance Agency since 2009;
Paul Koch, Partner and General Manager of Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge since 1988;
David H. McCaffrey, Strategic Business Partner with Predictive Assets since 2007;
Dare Messina, Real Estate Agent with L.W. Reedy Real Estate since 2007; and
John Zawaski, Founder and President of Dependable Business Forms for more than 35 years.
Ahart, Ahlgrim, Hayden, Koch, McCaffrey and Zawaski were installed on November 6, while Messina will be sworn in at the Board’s December 14 meeting.
Following is a brief biography for each of the Directors:
Mary Ahart
Mary Ahart, Sales Representative with Matrix Payment Systems since 2008, is a first-term elected Director who has served on the Membership Committee for two years and as a special event volunteer. Matrix is the Chamber’s credit card processing vendor.
Ahart has been a member of the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce for more than 20 years, and participates in the Greater O’Hare Association, Schaumburg Business Association and Dynamic Professional Women’s Network.
Her varied business background includes being Owner (2004-08) of Cody’s Food & Fun in Carol Stream, Co-Founder of Advantage National Bank in Roselle and Winfield, Branch Manager at Citibank in Bloomingdale (1988-2002) and Regional Sales Manager at Duracell Batteries (1980-88), where she authored the first national training manual for Duracell’s sales staff.
Ahart is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, with degrees in elementary education and special education.
She was a 22-year resident of Carol Stream who recently moved to Winfield.
Charity Ahlgrim
Charity Ahlgrim, Vice President and Business Development Officer at Community Bank of Elmhurst since 2005, is a second-term elected Director who has served on the Marketing Committee since 2006, when she was first appointed to the Board in 2006 to fill a vacancy.
A longtime volunteer at the Steak Fry and Elmfest, Ahlgrim also served as a Chamber Director in the 1990s and is a former member of the Chamber Ambassadors.
Community Bank of Elmhurst annually hosts the Chamber’s Mayoral “State of Our City” Membership Breakfast and holiday Business After Hours.
Ahlgrim has more than a quarter-century of community-based banking experience in Elmhurst and was elected to serve as Treasurer for the City of Elmhurst from 2005-09. During her years in community banking, she has been active in the Spring Road Business Association, co-founded the Elmhurst St. Patrick’s Day Parade and partners with The Silverado Grill on both a State of Illinois award-winning business education program for youths and the American Cancer Society’s Elmhurst Relay for Life.
Ahlgrim also is a Trustee for the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation and a member of League of Women Voters of Elmhurst.
She is an 18-year resident of Elmhurst.
Jackie Hayden
Jackie Hayden, Executive Sales Agent with Weiss Insurance Agency since 2009, is a first-term elected Director who served on the Marketing Committee in 2010 and has served on the Business-to-Business Expo Subcommittee for three years.
Hayden has been a member of the Naperville Chapter of the Business Executive Exchange (BEX) since 2007 and was involved in the Fox Valley Chapter of Altrusa International (2002-05).
Her insurance industry resume spans nearly three decades, including sales and account management positions with Midwest Insurance Agency (2004-08), The David Agency Insurance (1999-04) and Midwest Certified Insurance Agency (1992-96).
Hayden started out with the Illinois Surplus Lines Insurance Agency in 1982, advancing from claim assistant to underwriting assistant to assistant account manager, and then moved from wholesale to independent retail in 1988.
In 2000, Hayden was among only 200 agents nationwide to receive a National Commercial Achievement Honor from Safeco.
Hayden attended William Rainey Harper College in Palatine.
She is a 20-year resident of Hanover Park.
Paul Koch
Paul Koch, Partner and General Manager at Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge since 1988, is a first-term elected Director who was appointed to the Board in late 2009 to fill a vacancy. He also serves on the Governmental Affairs Committee.
Larry Roesch was a major sponsor of Elmfest during the 2000s and has hosted Chamber events in the city’s North Business Park.
Prior to joining the Larry Roesch Family Auto Group, Koch served at R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Sargent & Lundy as a Mechanical Engineer.
Koch serves on the Board of Governors at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and as Coach/Manager for the Elmhurst-based Chiefs Hockey Club, and is a Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst.
A 1979 graduate of Immaculate Conception High School in Elmhurst, Koch holds a Bachelor of Science degree (1984) from Northeastern University in Boston in mechanical engineering.
A former Elmhurst resident, Koch has resided in Bensenville for 20 years.
David H. McCaffrey
David H. McCaffrey, Strategic Business Partner with Predictive Assests since 2007, is a first-term elected Director who has served on the Marketing Committee for three years. He also has been a volunteer at the Golf Outing and Steak Fry.
His business background includes 28 years of corporate sales management, including a quarter of a century at Kraft Foods, plus stints with Starbucks Coffee and Oscar Mayer.
McCaffrey is an active member of Immaculate Conception Parish, including service on the Parish Council.
McCaffrey holds an associate degree in Marketing from Madison Area Technical College and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
He is a 13-year resident of Elmhurst who recently relocated to Bensenville.
Dare Messina
Dare Messina, an award-winning realtor with L.W. Reedy Real Estate in Elmhurst since 2007, is a first-term elected Director and former Board Chair (2007, the fifth of only six female Chairs in 92 years) who received the 2008 Chairman’s Award for her service as Past Chair and Interim Treasurer.
A Chamber member since 1997, Messina also has served as a Chamber Ambassador for eight years.
Messina has represented the Chamber with an Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 study and was a member of the College of DuPage Real Estate Advisory Committee (1998-01).
Messina is a member of the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce and former member of the Lombard Chamber of Commerce.
Her 25-year career as an Elmhurst realtor includes service with Keller Williams Realty Results (2005-07) and RE/MAX East-West (1986-2005).
Messina has served on the Elmhurst Atrium Townhouse Association’s Board of Directors (including Secretary and Treasurer) since 1970, and is a member of Visitation Catholic Church and the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst, including Past President (2008).
Messina is a Past Co-Director for United Way Campaign at United Airlines, where she worked as a flight attendant for 35 years until 2001, and a former member of the Elmhurst Jaycees.
She is a 41-year resident of Elmhurst.
John Zawaski
John Zawaski, Founder and President of Dependable Business Forms for more than 35 years, is a second-term elected Director who also served two terms on the Board from 2000-06.
A Chamber member since 1985, Zawaski is a third-year member of the Ways and Means Committee and also has served on the Membership Committee (2001-08).
An 18-year member of the Chamber Ambassadors, Zawaski twice received Ambassador of the Year awards (1996 and 2000).
Dependable Business Forms has worked on the production of the Chamber’s membership-related items, including recruitment brochures, window decals, business card holders and name badges.
Also active in the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce, Zawaski served on the
now-defunct Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation (EEDC) as a member of the not-for-profit’s Board of Directors and Membership Committee.
Zawaski is a long-time member of the Noon Rotary Club of Elmhurst, with service as Treasurer, Secretary, Vice President and President. He also served on the Fundraising Committee of the Elmhurst YMCA, and was Nation Chief for the Indian Guides and Trailblazers.
A former 30-year Elmhurst resident, he resides in Villa Park.
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 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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