In conjunction with our Chamber’s May-long solicitation for tax-deductible donations to install an interactive Civic Hall of Fame public memorial as part of the City of Elmhurst’s $25 million Metra Train Station new construction project, ECCI Board of Directors Treasurer Ralph Pechanio has contributed another $10K to the ECCI Centennial Celebration NFP.
Pechanio celebrated his May 3 birthday by donating $5K to the NFP’s Second Century Fund then donated $5K to the Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Endowment Fund at Elmhurst University during the University’s May 6 Giving Day.
The Second Century Fund provides unrestricted monies to fund the NFP’s charitable, civic and educational endeavors, while Endowment Fund reimburses ECCI for the 40 percent of student intern salaries not reimbursed by EU’s participation in the Illinois Board of High Education’s (IBHE) JOBPATH program.
The Civic HOF public memorial will feature a TouchPros Touch Wall interactive, touch-screen TV monitor (55 to 70 inches) on which users can view biographies, photographs and video clips of each of the inductees.
Created in honor of ECCI’s 100th Anniversary in 2018, the NFP’s one-of-a-kind $250K Capital Campaign has raised some $275K for the Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Endowment Fund at Elmhurst University versus a goal of $150K, exceeded the Second Century Fund’s $50K goal and collected more than $10K towards the $50K Civic HOF goal since 2016.
Since its creation in 1992 as part of the Opening Ceremonies at Elmfest, the Civic HOF has inducted 28 businesspeople, community volunteers and elected officials, including Pechanio as the 2015 inductee. Since Elmfest’s end in 2009, inductees have been honored at ECCI’s Annual Awards Gala in all but one of those years.