Dear Members:
Along with more than fellow 20 Illinois chamber of commerce executives (and members of their staff), I participated in the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Annual Convention at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis from July 26-29—our first in-person gathering since 2019 in Long Beach in southern California prior to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic. Some 400 of the 1,400 strong in attendance were first-time attendees relatively new to our chamber world.
Highland Park Strong
In the wake of the Fourth of July Parade shootings in the Village of Highland Park, our Chamber is the first of what I expect to be many Chicagoland area chambers to become a dues-paying member of the Highland Park Chamber of Commerce, given that charitable funds are already established to assist the victims and their families, and effected downtown businesses.
Additionally, I happily covered some traveling expenses so that Highland Park Chamber President and CEO Ginny Glasner to attend the ACCE Convention as my driving companion.
Erin Jason, the City of Elmhurst’s former Business Development Manager, was involved in Highland Park’s July 4 Parade as the Village’s Assistant City Manager and the training she received while part of our City’s administration proved beneficial in her new role.
Jason’s successor, Heather Bereckis, formerly of the Village of Hinsdale, started her new role in Elmhurst on July 26 and I am planning to meet with her for the first time later this week.
New Teachers Welcome
For more than three decades, ECCI members have welcomed thousands of teachers new to Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 as part of those educators’ annual orientation sessions.
During the 2022 luncheon at District 205’s new teacher orientation at York Community High School on August 9, ECCI President and CEO John Quigley will deliver a welcome speech and show a business promotion video before Chamber staffers hand out new teacher greeter totes filled with goodies donated by Chamber members. Members are free to donate coupons, gift cards, tchotchkes, etc., to some 75 greeter totes up to August 5.
“Veteran teachers coming to Elmhurst from other school districts, whether in Illinois and out of state, often remark about how welcoming our community is,” stated Quigley, who has served as ECCI’s President and CEO since 1999 and has been active in the Chamber since 1991.
The annual demographic of new teachers regularly includes those who attended public school in Elmhurst, from kindergarten through elementary school, middle school and York, along with a number of Elmhurst University graduates, and even sons and daughters of Chamber members.
In response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, District 205 restaged its new teacher orientation at York starting in 2020, when some 50 Chamber members delivered a video welcome via Zoom.
For 29 years dating back to 1991 when started by then ECCI President A.J. “Toche” Terrones, sponsoring Chamber members treated teachers new to Elmhurst’s public and private schools to a tasty banquet lunch and one-on-one conversation—a welcoming practice long-since imitated by many other area chambers of commerce. Post lunch, new teachers were formally introduced to luncheon attendees by their Chamber sponsors.
Over those years, new teachers also took a tour of the Elmhurst community on buses or trolleys, with the Quigley among the business leaders providing current info and historical perspective.
Mark Your Chamber Calendar
“Networking on the 9s,” our Chamber’s 74th Annual Golf Outing, will tee off at Sugar Creek Golf Course in Villa Park on Friday, September 23, as part of ECCI’s annual September Chamber of Commerce Month activities. Members of the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce also will participate. Click HERE to register as a sponsor, golfer or lunch guest.
Our sponsors already include: Hinton Insurance Agency – Farmers Insurance (Corporate); Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram (Golf Carts); The Katris Law Group (Co-Lunch); Eva Snachez/See Your House Right Here @ properties Elmhurst (Co-Beverage), Community Bank of Elmhurst (Contest Hole); Elmhurst Park District (Contest Hole); and The Stevens Group (Signage).
New Members
Our Chamber welcomed four new members in July as follows: Blue Water Graphics, Jelly’s Children’s Boutique & Ice Cream, R Building Services and StretchLab Elmhurst.
Reactivated Member
Nana’s Hot Dogs Unlimited and Pure Barre Elmhurst reactivated their memberships in July, both under new ownership.
Happy Anniversary
Five members are celebrating Chamber anniversaries in August as follows: 35 years—Mehta Motors; 25 years—First Congregational United Church of Christ; 20 years—Elmhurst Independent; 15 years—DeForest Dance Academy; and 5 years—New Age Services Corp.
Dropped Members
The Chamber said goodbye to the following five members in July: Dewberry Architects and NEXT Yoga, People’s Resource Center, Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park and The Junkluggers of West Chicago Suburbs.
Death in the Family
We mourn the devasting loss of Marlene Tegmeyer, former Visitor and Tourism Coordinator for the City of Elmhurst, and John “Jack” Tegmeyer, her husband (and constant companion at Chamber events), who passed away on July 27 and 8, respectively.