Long-time community volunteer Ralph Pechanio will be honored as a three-time Ambassador of the Year honoree at the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 106th Annual Awards Gala in the Oak Room at Endeavor Health Elmhurst Hospital, 155 East Brush Hill Road, on Friday, March 21, from 5 to 9 p.m. Click HERE to register.
The award is presented annually to a member of the green-coated Chamber Ambassadors for his/her outstanding service.
Pechanio joins an exclusive list of three-time award recipients, having first being honored in 1993 and then again in 2011.
Preceding Pechanio as three-time honorees in the past 35 years were John Zawaski (1996, 2000 and 2013), the late Thomas Myers Jr. (1995, 2001 and 2014) and Betsy Hanisch (1991, 1998 and 2018).
Pechanio has served on the ECCI Board of Directors and Executive Committee since 2015 as the appointed Treasurer.
A green-coated Chamber Ambassador since 1992, Pechanio has served business and civic interest since his “retirement” from the banking industry in 1993 following the sale of Elmhurst Federal Savings & Loan in downtown Elmhurst. Over 23 years at Elmhurst Federal, he served as Controller, Vice President, Treasurer and then Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Elmhurst Federal, he was a State of Illinois Department of Financial Institutions saving and loan examiner.
Pechanio has chaired the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial Commission since its inception prior to the Elmhurst Veterans Memorial dedication on May 31, 1993, and co-chaired the Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade Committee from 1997-2024.
Pechanio is the principal donor to the Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Endowment Fund ($347K market value) at Elmhurst University, which reimburses ECCI for a portion or all of a student intern’s hourly wages.
A veteran of the United States Army (1965-67), Pechanio played an integral role as the Fundraising Chairman in the building of the Veterans Memorial in Wilder Park during his tenure as ECCI Board Chair.
Pechanio is the 2015 inductee into the ECCI Civic Hall of Fame, which was one of his Board Chair initiatives back in 1992.
His honors include the Elmhurst Jaycees’ Distinguished Service Award (2001), ECCI’s Good Works Award (2009) and Elmhurst College Bluejay Backers’ Community Service Award (2014).
His local affiliations include the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst and Elmhurst American Legion THB Post 187.
As ECCI’s public relations team, Ambassadors welcome new members at their Grand Opening celebrations with ribbon-cutting events, and join members celebrating Grand Re-Openings, major anniversaries and office expansions or relocations.
Established in 1918, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and 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 Elmhurst 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.
The Chamber’s mission is to promote an environment that creates success for local businesses and our community.