Monday, December 8, 2008

Gail's Monday Chamber UPDATE

What a fun weekend we had! The Hallers are doing their best to support the Park Ridge economy! My friend, Lori Annetti, and I went to WineStyles 1st Anniversary wine tasting party on Saturday and had a wonderful time! Did you know they have a table where all the wines are marked down to $10 each if you buy six or more? The selection changes often but they’re all wonderful! We each bought our six! Thank you to Tracy and Doug Bell for a fun time!

On Sunday, my 9 year old daughter, Lian, and I went to St. Matthew Center for Health to view the nativity scenes from all over the world. I’m so glad we went! It’s an annual event that the owner of the collection, Susan Greeley, volunteers each year. There were over 300 nativity scenes made out of everything imaginable – olive wood, recycled newspaper, volcanic ash, pewter, soda cans – it was truly amazing. They handed out a scavenger hunt list and Lian hunted out each and every item on the list! Each culture has its own interpretation of the nativity and their own artistic styles and mediums. My favorite was from Alaska where Mary and Joseph were Inuit eskimos and the Wise Men arrived on dog sled, whale, and the barn was an igloo. Each one was so very special in its own way.

Don’t forget to bring in your receipts for the Chamber’s Economic Stimulus Package! $500 spent with members will get you entered into a drawing. We’ll pull the November winner at the luncheon on Wednesday! Save the December receipts for a January drawing!

Did you see that our 400th member is Park Ridge Paint, Glass, & and Wallpaper? 71 new members since April!



December Monthly Luncheon at Outback!
You’re invited to attend the Chamber’s last monthly networking luncheon of the year! It’s at Outback Steakhouse this Wednesday, December 10, from 11:30 to 1:30.
I heard on the radio this morning that many companies are eliminating their holiday parties so let this be your party! It’s only $25 per person for members ($30 prospective members) and Rich Callahan, GM at Outback, puts on a great spread! Don’t be left out!Outback is located at 8101 W. Higgins Rd, Chicago, IL 60631 (east of Cumberland). Phone: 773-380-0818 www.outbacksteakhouse.com. Our guest speaker is the news director at WGN, Wes Bleed and his topic is “Follow the Leader.” Wes Bleed is a veteran broadcast journalist with more than 25 years experience in radio and television journalism. Whether behind the mic or in front of the camera, Wes has performed as reporter, anchor and talk show host. Wes can also be heard providing news reports and other stories for CLTV and WGN-TV. He has also been a contributing reporter for the ABC Radio Network.

Here’s who has rsvp’d so far:

Karen
Anderson
Dental Auxiliary Placement Service

John
Barrett
Applications Network

Diddy
Blyth
A Sterling Design

Bob
Campbell
Willow Wellness Center

Lisa
Campbell
Willow Wellness Center

Delia
Ciminello
First Chicago Bank & Trust

Tom
Dombro
ING Advisors Network

Justin
Duhai
Northside Community Bank

Curt
Edlund
Larsen and Edlund

Jenny
Fitzgerald
Sabella & Graham, P.C.

Diane
Forsythe
Brickton Mortgage Corporation

Susan
Frangos
Higher Level Wellness

Kathleen
Frey
Pioneer Press

Cathy
Janus
Janus Premiums

Cara
Lindell
Fully Fit Lifestyles, Inc.

Christina
Niklas
Prospective Member

Deborah
Oberschelp
Select Redesign

Brent
Plunkett
Prospective Member

Doug
Root
Home Comfort Heating & Cooling

Rosemary
Sajovic
Journal & Topics

Tom
Schroeder
Commerce Group Service

Don
Sebastian, Jr.
Sebastian Co. Real Estate

Sonia
Teruel
Comfort Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Lynda
Tourloukis
You Can Say Yes!

Kim
Uhlig
City of Park Ridge

Chris
Valentine
Edward Jones

Anna
Wasyliw
Harris Bank

Dorothy Brownstein’s birthday is this Wednesday so come celebrate with us!

December Business After Hours at
WineStyles!
Business After Hours: Thursday, December 18 at WineStyles from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Our very last Chamber event for 2008 – come out and party! Wear your Santa hats and ties! A good opportunity for those holiday sweaters too!Thank you to Tracy and Doug Bell for hosting! It’s going to be a great time! Wine, food (All on the Road Catering!), and more! No additional charge – included in your Chamber membership! Plan to buy some wine while you’re there too! Did you know that most of their wines are between $10 and $25?



Installation & Awards Dinner ‘A Night of Stars’ 1/24/09
A Night of Stars: Saturday, Jan. 24, 2009
Can you donate a silent auction or raffle item? Let me know!
Thank you to the following who are donating – either silent auction items, raffle items, in kind donations or monetary donations:

A Sterling Design

Accents by Jenny

American Eagle

Baggio's Studios

Baileys Restaurant

Chicago Fire Soccer

Dental Auxiliary Placement Svc

Dominic's Kitchen Store

French Twist, A Hair Salon for Men and Women, Niles

Hay Caramba!

Howard Frimark

Hyatt Regency O’Hare

Indira Salon

Jackie's Nails & Spa

Jewel Osco

Journal Newspaper

Kiko's Flowers & Gifts

Kustom Kribs Baby Boutique

Lutheran General Hospital

Lynette's School of Dance

Minuteman Press of Des Plaines

Nika le Butik

Order My Gift

Park Ridge Fire Department

PC Medic, Inc.

Perry's Pizzaria

Pioneer Press

Quinn Print, Inc.

Resurrection Health Care

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

SCORE! Educational Centers

Select Redesign, Inc.

The Exercise Coach

The Lock Up Storage Center

Timber Ridge Lodge & Waterpark at Grand Geneva

TriPilates

WineStyles




The invitations were designed by Rita Baggio, Baggio Studios and are being printed by Quinn Print Inc. They’ll be assembled by the students at Maine East High School under the direction of teacher Jeff Gallichio. Thank you to Rita, Mike and Jeff for your continued support of the Chamber!



And another big thank you to Kiko’s Flowers for offering the provide the table arrangements!



The committee will be reviewing the Community Star Award nominations next week so they must be received by this Friday, 12/12, in order to be considered!



Remember, in January there will be no monthly networking luncheon because we’re having the Installation & Awards dinner so please plan to attend the dinner. Piano music by Fred Simon! It’s open to everyone! $60 per person.









2009 Chamber Dues are the same as 2008! If you have any 2008 money left and want to pay your 2009 Chamber dues, we’re accepting them now! If you would like to pay by credit card, here is the link:

http://renew.parkridgechamber.org You can also go to our website for the link.

Platinum status: For just an additional $300, you get extra recognition and 8 monthly luncheons ($200 value alone!). Please consider upgrading to Platinum when you renew.

Chamber Benefit: Notary Public
We at the Chamber are always trying to come up with new ways to support and benefit our membership and here’s the latest: both Cindy Clark and Marci Derrick are a notary public! This service will be a member benefit, included in your annual dues. Although we haven’t decided on a non-member fee yet, we’re considering it – do you know what others charge for this service?





Golf Outing 2009 Survey

Tom Dombro, ING, and Kane Connell, Liberty Bank for Savings, are co-chairs of the 2009 Chamber Golf Outing.

Please give us feedback on what we should do this year for our golf outing.

Here’s the link for a quick 10 question survey that you can cut & paste into your browser: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=IIHUKtg5bO9Uh_2f0CXAkZ_2bg_3d_3d



Member News
Member News - What’s going on in your business?

Send me an email! I’ll include your info in my eblasts at no additional charge! Its best to send me an email in the 3rd person so I can cut & paste your info into my eblast.

Thank you to Cathy Janus, Janus Premiums, for recommending two new members for the Chamber and they both joined: A Silver Connection and Comfort Heating & Cooling. Cathy received 2 Chamber gift certificates for $10 each and then took me to Baileys Restaurant for lunch last week where we spent them!

Congratulations to Delia Ciminello for being promoted to Branch Manager for the Touhy branch of Chicago Bank & Trust!

Members I visited:

Ann Witek, State Farm Insurance & Financial Services

Park Ridge Garden Club – had their holiday party last week!

Janus Premiums

Baileys Restaurant

Diane Forsythe – Brickton Mortgage - Are you thinking of getting an outside office? If so, talk to Diane Forsythe at 847-338-2013 as she has space available.

Indira Salon Spa – Donielle Vines, senior stylist (opening soon!)

Carlucci's Rosemont – John Compagna

Tom Dombro, ING

Kevin Witek, Y-Tech Heating & Cooling

Kidwinks - Nina Taluc & Jean Lemke

Perry's Pizzaria - Nick

McNulty Design Group

Prospective Members Visited:

Park Ridge Paint, Glass & Wallpaper – Dan Galuska joined!

Panera Bread

Eco Tec Insulation – Tom Decker (he’s coming to lunch on Wed!)

Tom Canale & Brent Plunkett – Northwestern Mutual Financial Network – Brent is coming to lunch on Wed too!

Business Center.com

Michelle Gabrielle Boutique

Car Guy Garage.com

Across the Street



All on the Road Catering Express
All on the Road Catering Express has opened at the train station by the library! Congratulations, Barb!

5 a.m. to 10 a.m. serving breakfast pastries, coffees and teas Monday through Friday. Barb says to stop in even if you’re not riding the train.



2009 Renewals
I’m happy to announce the following members who renewed last week for 2009 (thank you!):

Park Ridge Multi Med – Keith Berndtson

WSI – We Simplify the Internet (Jim Cone)

A bunch came in today but I’ll mention them next Monday!

Noodles & Co: Moodle Ring for Make a Wish Foundation!
Moodle Ring promotion starting today! The rings are $1.50 and 100% of the proceeds goes to Make A Wish Foundation. Noodles will have this promotion for the next 3 months with the goal to raise $50,000 as a company.



1/17/09: ‘SONO’
Save the date! Saturday, January 17, 2009

Service Organization Night Out with the Chicago Wolves Hockey Team. The Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce, The Elks Club, The Rotary Club, Kiwanis, and other service organizations and families are invited! Meet, eat and network at The Elks Club in Des Plaines. Free parking at the game, prizes just for our groups, and a Skates Bobble Head Doll – plus two tickets to another Wolves game! Kids get goody bags!

Cost is $25 adults and $19 for kids 12 and under. Only 40 tickets left to the game are for sale. If you want to come just for dinner and networking at the Elks Club, its $17 for adults. Thank you to Rick Pucci for putting it together!





U.S. Troops: Please Help!
Maine Township Partners with Golf Mill and Journal to Collect Items for Troops

Monday, Dec. 8 through Dec. 15 2008, Maine Township will collect items and monetary donations for our troops overseas.

For more information on how you can make a positive impact in the life of a soldier overseas this holiday season, call 847-297-2510 or visit www.mainetownship.com.



Contact me:
Gail Haller
Executive Director
Park Ridge Chamber of Commerce
32 Main Street, Suite F
Park Ridge, IL 60068
phone: 847.825.3121
fax: 847.825.3122

email: gail.haller@parkridgechamber.org

website: www.parkridgechamber.org



Thank you to our Platinum Members:

Aardvark Builders 312.504.4090
Applications Network 847.823.1830
Kumon Math & Reading Centers 847.939.5090
PC Medic Computer Repair 847-299-5556
State Farm Insurance & Financial Services - Ann Witek 847.692.3260
The Exercise Coach 847.823.0035

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