ELMHURST JAYCEES TO HONOR MEMORIAL DAY PARADE CO-CHAIR
ELMHURST,Ill., April 27, 2001 – Elmhurst resident Ralph P. Pechanio, Co-Chairman of the Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade since 1997, will receive the Elmhurst Jaycees’ 2001 Distinguished Service Award at their annual banquet at the diplomat West Banquet Halls, 681 West North Avenue, on Thursday, May 31.
The DSA banquet starts at 6:30 p.m., with a cocktail hour, dinner
at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are $40.00 per person and seating is limited to 175. Checks should be made payable to the Elmhurst Jaycee’s and mailed to P.O. Box 235, Elmhurst, IL 60126, by Friday, May 25.
For more information, call Jaycees President Kevin Diamond at (312) 701-3981.
“The Elmhurst Jaycees thank Ralph Pechanio for allowing us to present him with our 2001 Distinguished Service award,” said Diamond. “His record of volunteer service to numerous organizations throughout the Elmhurst Community is second to none.”
“We invite everyone who has had the pleasure of working with Ralph to join us on May 31 to honor a man whose volunteer efforts over the years have contributed to making Elmhurst a great place to live.”
“Ralph is the epitome of what it means to be a selfless volunteer,” said John Quigley, President of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Co-Chairman of the Memorial Day Parade.”
Pechanio played an integral role as Fund-raising Chairman in the building of the Veterans Memorial in Wilder PArk while Chaimran (then President) of the Elmhurst Chamber’s Board of Directors. He also has chaired the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial Commission since its inception prior to the memorial’s 1993 Memorial Day dedication.
Pechanio has served the business and civic communities since his “retirement ” from banking in 1993. His career included 23 years at the former Elmhurst Federal Savings Bank (1970-93) as a Controller, Vice President and Treasurer, and then Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Elmhurst Federal, he served as a Savings and Loan Examiner at the State of Illinois’ Department of Financial Institutions (1964 and 1967-70).
Pechanio graduated from DePaul University in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science of Commerce with a major in accounting and then served in the U.S. Army (1965-67).
Besides the Elmhurst Chamber, his local affiliations include the City of Elmhurst, Elmhurst Economic Development Corporation, Elmhurst City Centre, MacCormac College, Elmhurst Family YMCA, and Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst.
Pechanio and his wife, Georgette, have resided in Elmhurst since their marriage in 1969. they are the parents of Matthew and Polly.
The Elmhurs Jaycees, which is chartered as the Junior Chamber of Commerce, have honored deserving community volunteers with their DSA for the past 50 years.
Past recipients include: Clifford Harmon (1951), Dr. Max Klinghoffer (1952), Mrs William Brice (1953), Mrs. Joseph Ackerman (1954), R. Bradner Hilliard (1955), Joseph Sheehan (1956), Helmut Berens (1957), Mrs. John Davenport (1958), George Hammerschmidt (1959), Mrs. JOhn Musil (1960), Mrs. David Thompson (1961), Stephen French Jr. (1962), Robert Bosworth (1963), P. William Simonini (1964), Dr. Robert Stanger (1965), Byron Stevens (1966), Dr. Joseph Ackerman (1967), Mrs. Mildred Terwedo (1968), Dr. Maurice Turner (1969), tom PRice (1970), Mrs. George Scheppach (1971), Charles Weigle Jr. (1972), Miss Ruth Strand (1973), Mrs. Dorothy Marquard ( 1974), Abner Ganet (1975), Marvin E. Pollard (1976), Ray Fick Jr. (1977), Robert Palmer (1978), Mary Mahon (1979), Samuel Weigle (1980), Paul Hayden (1981), Fred Messerschmidt (1982), Jean Baker (1983), Ruth and Nellie Stickle (1984), Nancy Vonderohe (1985), Joanne Butterfield Wagner (1986), Jackie Haddad (1987), Art Karnstedt (1988), Jean Haselhorst (1989), Frank Allen (1990), Gene Hoffman (1991), Frank Catalano Sr. (1992), Phyllis Doan (1993), James Hallberg (1994), Betsy Aldred (1995), Darrell Whistler (1996), John Howlett (1997), Ted Dulles (1999) and Judge William Bauer (2000). No award was made in 1998.
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