Dear Members:
So, did you lose three to fourth months of earnings in the recent United States stock market drop and then gain most of it back days later?
Despite the stock market’s most-recent volatility, America’s economy—or our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)—grew at a near-trend 2.5% in 2017 versus the 3% standard, a total of 2.1 million new jobs were created in the past 12 months (including 200,000 in January of 2018), the unemployment rate fell to a below-norm 4.1% and energy prices for oil and natural gas remain below their historical standards. Low energy prices fueled light truck sales (pick-ups, SUVs, vans, etc.), which grew by 5% in 2017, while light vehicles sales fell 1.4% and sales of alternative powered vehicles remained insignificant.
Those statistics were just a portion of what some 275 businesspeople and 35 exhibitors representing Elmhurst and 11 other chambers learned during Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Senior Economist William Strauss’ Keynote Address at our 16th Annual Economic Outlook Luncheon held in Downers Grove on February 13.
The recovery from the Great Recession has been slow, but steady at around 2.2% average annualized growth, as compared to 4.3% following the 1081-82 and 1974-75 downturns.
Two factors driving GDP are labor force growth (often driven by growth in immigration) and productivity gains as a result of better equipment, improved processes, greater capital investment or a more-skilled workforce.
Manufacturing employment increased by 186,000 workers over a 12-month period, thanks in part to Midwest job growth, and the Federal Reserve Bank’s Midwest Economy Index (MEI) manufacturing component is both above trend and doing better than the rest of the country. While the Midwest economy is growing in-line with the national economy, here in Illinois employment growth is well below the national average and the unemployment rate is at 4.8%. Even though employees who work part-time for “economic” reasons only is at a near-norm of 3%, nearly one of every four full-time job seekers has been unemployed for six months or more.
Wages and benefit cost continue to increase, but at a slow rate due in part to slow growth in productivity stemming the weak pace of real private nonresidential fixed investment.
Capital Campaign
I am happy to report that our $250,000 Centennial Celebration Capital Campaign—featuring the $150,000 Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Fund at Elmhurst College and $100,000 Second Century Fund (including $50,000 for development a public Civic Hall of Fame Memorial)—is at 73 percent of goal, with $181,563 in gifts and pledges.
The Pechanio Endowment Fund is at 88 percent of goal ($132,601), including some $11,450 in 2017 earnings, while the Second Century Fund is at 51 percent of goal ($50,962), which includes the $50,000 unrestricted fund at 81 percent ($40,290) and the Civic HOF fund at 20 percent ($9,800).
Recent donors to the Second Century’s unrestricted fund included Board of Directors Chair Ken Bartels of Community Bank of Elmhurst and Ken Bartels Consulting, 2004 Board Chair Cathy Bajkowski of CB Health Insurance, and Ralph Pechanio (who paid for our recent solicitation mailing to 500-plus members).
That unrestricted fund also counts $1,245 in $5 ticket income collected in the first month of our Split-The-Pot Raffle, which ends at our 100th Annual Award Gala on January 25 of 2019. Members bought 61 tickets at our February 22 Business After Hours hosted at Fifi’s Tailor & Custom Design and Betsy Hanisch generously matched that $315 total.
Elmhurst-Opoly
In a record-setting two weeks, our members purchased 75 sponsorship opportunities ranging from $35 to $2K partnership to participate in our Elmhurst-Opoly board game, which will go on sale in May at a cost of $35 per game (retail sales tax included).
Of the 1,000 Elmhurst-Opoly board games that our Chamber will produce to market our community to residents and visitors, 100 games are already committed to those sponsors, so when games go on pre-sale in May don’t wait to jump on board (get it?).
Happy Anniversaries
Five members are celebrating Chamber anniversaries in March, as follows: 30 years—Skowron Eye Care; 20 years—Luscombe Music; 15 years—Country Inn & Suites and CustomFACE; and 5 years—Men in Brotherhood #1178 AF and AM.
New Members
The Chamber welcomed eight new members in February as follows: Angel Fancy Design Studio, Bloom Organizing LLC, Dollars and Sense, Jim’s Handyman Services, Neighborhood Restoration Inc., Rosati’s Pizza, The Design Group and Topgolf Wood Dale.
Reactivated Members
Armand’s Restaurant and Darwin Realty & Development Corporation reactivated their Chamber memberships in February.
No Longer Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following four members in February: Coldwell Banker (Nancy Sliwa), Creative Inks, Robert Honig–Attorney at Law and South Water Signs.
Those members inactivated despite appearing in 500 to 1,000 category searches of our website in the past year, including 25 to 50 views of their Chamber member page.
Gone, But Not Forgotten
World War II veteran Marvin H. Mischnick passed away shortly after his 99th birthday. An esteemed Elmhurst Memorial Day Parade participant, Mischnick served as a Technician 5th Grade in the United States Army’s 3rd Armored Division.