Dear Members:
The Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Board of Director late last month voted its endorsement of the $168.5 million referendum for Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 appearing on the November General Election ballot, as recommended by our Governmental Affairs Committee. A press release outlining the Board’s rationale for endorsing the referendum will be e-mailed later this morning.
Tiered Dues Approved
The Board of Directors at its September 11 meeting approved our Chamber’s adoption of a tiered dues annual investment schedule from the current criteria based on number of employees (inaccurately titled “Fair Share”), as recommended by the Executive, Ways and Means and Membership committees. Our three dues tiers and two sponsorship levels will be test marketed in this Fourth Quarter and, if needed, tweaked to start 2019.
For now, only new members will join under the tiered dues schedule, which also will feature monthly direct debit as the default payment option to help balance our cash flow. Yes…cash, check and credit card are still accepted. Grandfathered under the employee-based schedule, current members are welcome to buy into a tiered dues level at any time.
New Director of Member Services
Following a three-month search linked with our tiered dues adoption, I am pleased to announce the hiring of Mariella Mastromauro, former Project Service Specialist with ADP, as our new Director of Member Services, starting on October 16. More to come.
Visitor and Tourism Growth
DuPage County’s visitation numbers for calendar year 2017 showed in increases in visitor spending, state and local tax revenue, and jobs, according to Beth Marchetti, Executive Director of the DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau, which staged its 2018 Annual Meeting Breakfast at Le Jardin at Cantigny Park in Wheaton on September 27.
The visitation growth over 2016’s numbers contributed to:
- 3% increase in visitor spending at $2.6 billion;
- 9% increase in state tax revenue at $160 million;
- 3% increase in local tax revenue at $46 million; and
- 7% increase in tourism-related employment to more than 23,000 jobs.
Over the past five years, key performance indicators—such as spending, tax revenue and jobs—have generated increases ranging from 1.5% to 6.1%. That growth represents an approximate savings of $1,300 per year in taxes for the average County household, according to the Illinois Office of Tourism.
With some 16,000 rooms available at 115 hotels—including Clarion Hotel Conference Center, Courtyard by Marriott and Spring Hill Suites by Marriott in Elmhurst—DuPage ranks second in the state only to Cook County in tourism expenditures. As a home rule community, Elmhurst benefits from a hotel room tax, retail sales tax, food and beverage tax, and motor fuel tax.
“While tourism in DuPage is growing, so too is the competition,” Marchetti stated, “It is imperative that we must collaborate internally in order to compete externally. At the end of the day, what we do to attract visitors is economic development.”
For every dollar invested in tourism marketing, nine dollars in revenue is generated. Although DuPage’s tourism revenue has continued to increase thanks to an overall increase in travel spending, the county’s percentage of tourism business in Illinois has dropped by .07% to just more than 7%—which equates to $25 million in lost revenue.
Elmhurst-Opoly Goes Public
While Elmhurst-Opoly can be bought online at a cost of $25 (retail sales tax included), our board game also can be purchased at any of the following six commercial and retail locations across Elmhurst:
- Community Bank of Elmhurst (Main Branch and City Centre);
- Elmhurst City Centre;
- Elmhurst History Museum;
- K & T Colors; and
- The Uptown Shop.
To date, nearly 400 of our production run of 1,000 board games have been sold or given away as gifts since their delivery in late July.
Happy Anniversaries
Eight members are celebrating milestone Chamber anniversaries in October, as follows: 40 years—Superior Air-Ground Ambulance; 20 years—Bob Pine; 15 years—Helping Hands Cleaning Service; 10 years—AMITA Health, BMO Harris – City Centre and Worden Valuation Services; and 5 years—Chick-fil-A and Soule, Bradtke and Lambert.
New Members
The Chamber welcomed five new members in September as follows: Allstate Insurance (Jack Grigat), Bonheur White Glove Serving Staff, Cloud Nine Restaurant Group, MZI Telecom, and Triangle Sign and Awning.
Reactivated Member
Manion Decorating, which first joined our Chamber during my first month as President and CEO in 1999, has reactivated its membership in September after a five-year hiatus.
No Longer Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following three members in September: CASA of DuPage, CR Embroidery and Knights of Columbus Council 1911.