Dear Members:
If you didn’t attend the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s 93rd Annual Awards Gala at the Diplomat West Banquet Halls on January 25, you not only missed out on a wonderful night of celebration for our business community—but you also weren’t among the first to welcome Kevin O’Keeffe as our new Member Advocate.
Kevin, who starts work today, is the former Owner of Fontano’s Subs and just completed his year as Chair of the ECCI Board of Directors. He first became active in the Chamber during his 11 years as a member of the Elmhurst Jaycees and joined with Fontano’s in 2005.
First elected to the Chamber Board in 2006 and re-elected in 2009, Kevin also served on the Executive Committee in 2010 as First Vice Chair and Chair of the Membership Committee, and in 2009 as Second Vice Chair and Chair of the Marketing Committee (after two years as a Committee member).
Kevin also has served on the Board of Directors of Elmhurst City Centre, which manages the two Special Service Areas (SSA 6 and SSA 7) serving businesses, commercial property owners and residential property owners in the city’s Central Business District.
His resume includes 18 years of work as a Director of Sales in different fields and two years of teaching at Elmhurst’s Immaculate Conception Grade School.
As a Jaycee, Kevin held the offices of Director, Treasurer and Vice President, and oversaw the Carnival fundraiser at Elmfest for many years.
Got It! in Elmhurst
The Got It! in Elmhurst campaign partnership between the City of Elmhurst and our Chamber, continues beyond its Fourth Quarter of 2011 timeline encouraging residents to shop and dine local for Valentine’s Day via display advertising in Elmhurst newspapers and coupon magazines.
Joint discussions continue on development of smart phone apps for shopping, dining and entertainment.
Do you have an inspiring Got It! story to tell? Please share it with me, the Chamber and the rest of Elmhurst by mailing to 242 North York Street, Suite 102), e-mailing to info@elmhurstchamber.org or texting to 630-846-6060.
Chamber on Cable TV
Elmhurst Our Kind of Town in February will air both Elmhurst Mayor Peter DiCianni’s third “State of Our City” Address (hosted by Community Bank of Elmhurst on January 17) and the Chamber’s 93rd Annual Awards Gala on Channel 6 of Comcast. If you can’t wait to watch on TV, you can view the programs directly at www.elmhursttv.com.
On the Legislative Front
State Treasurer Dan Rutherford will be the Keynote Speaker at the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Legislative Summit in Springfield on February 6.
Board Chair Jennifer Speaker of SMB Advantage Group, Treasurer Dee Longfellow of the Elmhurst Independent, Directors Jackie Hayden of Weiss Insurance Agency and Heather Winter of Elmhurst College, and Valerie Bruggeman of AT&T will join me and representatives from Chambers across the state to advocate on behalf of our members.
On the Political Front
Kudos to Elmhurst College’s Fifth Annual Governmental Forum for bringing Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael Madigan and Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Foundation President Lance Pressl to the Frick Center on January 24 to discuss state and regional economic issues with some 300 businesspeople.
Speaker Madigan, making a rare public appearance in respect of former House Speaker/Master of Ceremonies Lee Daniels, discussed education reform, state pension, worker’s compensation reform, unemployment insurance and the state budget.
Pressl reported on the Tri-State Metro Study done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in France that reports low GDP, low job growth as low patent creation for southeast Wisconsin, northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. The Chicagoland area ranked last of 50 major metropolitan areas in the United Sates in Beacon Hill Institute’s Metro Area and State Competitiveness Report back in 2004.
Affirming my mantra about job creation, Pressl reported that two-thirds of America’s new jobs come from businesses less than five years old and less than 100 employees.
North Business Park Advocacy
Our Chamber is partnering with Elmhurst City Council Ward 2 Aldermen Norm Leader and Bob Dunn to better connect North Business Park members with each other and with city officials and administrators.
A select group of North Business Park representatives brainstormed ideas with Alderman Leader and Assistant City Manager Mike Kopp at the Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee meeting on January 26. Alderman Dunn was out of town on business, but stayed in the loop.