The Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors elected two officers and approved one appointment for its six-member Executive Committee for 2021 at its regular monthly meeting held November 10 via Zoom video conferencing. Elected to serve one-year terms on the Executive Committee were:
Chairperson—Desiree Chen, Senior Director, Communications and External Relations, at Elmhurst University (190 Prospect Avenue).
First Vice Chairperson—Eva Sanchez, Real Estate Agent with See Your House Right Here @properties in downtown Elmhurst (130 West Park Avenue).
The Second Vice Chairperson position will remain unfilled until 2021.
Appointed to serve a one-year term on the Executive Committee was:
Treasurer—Ralph Pechanio, Chair of the City of Elmhurst’s Veterans Memorial Commission, former community banker and long-time Chamber volunteer.
Chen, Sanchez and Pechanio will be joined on the Executive Committee by Immediate Past Chair Bill Korbel, Local Sales Manager with the Elmhurst Suburban Life/Shaw Media (2001 Butterfield Road, Suite 105, Downers Grove), and ex-officio member John R. Quigley, Chamber President and CEO since 1999.
Chen also becomes only the 10th female Board Chair in the Chamber’s 102-year history, all of them since 1982, with eight of those serving during John Quigley’s 21-year tenure as ECCI’s President and CEO.
Preceding Chen as Board Chairs were Virginia “Ginny” Harmon (1982) of Unique Travel Service, Nancy Phillips (1988) of York State Bank, Gloria Duarte (1999) of Café Las Belles Artes, Cathy Bajkowski (2003) of CB Health Insurance, Dare Messina (2006) of L.W. Reedy Real Estate, Debra Klosterman (2007) of then Guaranteed Rate (now Catalano & Associates), Jennifer Speaker (2012) of SMB Advantage Group, Julie Miller Sheehan (2014) of IRS Trouble Solvers and Dee Longfellow (2015) of The Elmhurst Independent.
Chen will work closely with the Chamber staff and oversee the policy-making work of the Chamber Board and its four standing committees (Marketing, Membership, Ways and Means, and Governmental Affairs), as well special committees and task forces.
Sanchez and Pechanio will serve as Chairs of the Marketing and Ways and Means committees, respectively, while Quigley chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee. The Second Vice Chair will Chair the Membership Committee.
Chen’s Chairmanship will coincide with Elmhurst University’s Sesquicentennial celebrating the educational institution’s 150th Anniversary year. Founded in 1871, Elmhurst College changed its name to a University last July 1 to more accurately portray the wide range of undergraduate and graduate academic tracks for both traditional and adult students.
Chen has served on the Board since 2012 and on the Executive Committee for two years. First appointed to fill a Board vacancy, she was then elected to three-year Director terms in 2015 and again in 2018.
Chen served on the Executive Committee as First Vice Chair in 2020 and Second Vice Chair in 2019, and chaired the Marketing Committee in both of those years.
Sanchez served as Second Vice Chair and Chair of the Membership Committee in 2020.
Pechanio served as Treasurer and Chair of the Ways and Means Committee for a fifth appointed term.
Completing his service on the Executive Committee (and Board) was Past Chair Kevon Kost, Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments (340 West Butterfield Road, Suite 4E).
Established in 1918, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & 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 mission of the Elmhurst Chamber is to promote an environment that creates success for local businesses and our community.
The 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.