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Inside:
www.peoriachamber.orgA publication of the
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Report
April 2014
Vol. 22 Issue 4
Member Feature:
Central Illinois RegionalChamber Legislative Effort
Commercial Energy CO-OP
Peoria Shops Washington
Page
2
Plan Ahead Events (A)6903 N Ironwood Drive, Edwards, IL 61528P: 309.273.1515www.planaheadevents.com/greaterpeoriaAs a full service meeting and event management company, Plan Ahead Events can conceptualize and implement meetings and events of all sizes and calibers. As experts in our industry, we maintain national strategic relationships and an extensive knowledge base that allow us the resources to execute meetings and events at any level. Our under-standing of customer service and commitment gives us a significant advantage above the rest. We are very flexible with the services that we offer and can offer our complete list of services in coordinating your meeting or event, or we can offer our services on an individual basis, depending on your needs.
Bix Basement Systems (C)9000 N Industrial Road, Peoria, IL 61615P: 319.372.3554www.bixbasementsolutions.comBix Basement Systems is a full service basement, foundation and crawl space repair company with access to more than 28 patented products by Basement Systems, Inc. and Foundation Supportworks, Inc.
Welcome!Dynegy - Edward Power Station (D)7800 S. Cilco Lane, Bartonville, IL 61607P: 713.507.6400www.dynegy.comEdwards Power Station is a 700 Megawatt coal-fired power station.
Eichenauer Services (D)2465 N 22nd Street, Decatur, IL 62526P: 800.252.5892www.esiquality.comEichenauer Services Inc. (ESI) is a commercial kitchen equipment service company that provides service throughout the state of Illinois and nationally distribute replacement kitchen equipment parts. ESI has been committed to being the experts in commercial restaurant equipment since opening its doors in 1946. We are factory autho-rized by a large amount of kitchen equipment manufacturers in the restaurant industry and that list is constantly growing.
Signs Plus Lighting Inc (A)8006 N Sommer St. Unit R, Peoria, IL 61615P: 309.696.2445www.signspluslighting.comDesign / Manufacture / Installation / Maintenance of all types of signs and business lighting
New Chamber Members
CIRCLE (Central Illinois Regional Chambers Legislative Effort) is comprised of the Chambers of Canton, Champaign County, Chillicothe, Decatur, East Peoria, Galesburg Area, Jacksonville, Lincoln/Logan, McLean County, Morton, Pekin, Peoria, Peoria Heights, Quincy, Springfield, and Washington. We work together to advocate for a common agenda with the Illinois General Assembly.
By joining CIRCLE, you will play an active role in our discussions with policy makers, legislators, and key committee staff members about this year’s most relevant issues, including worker’s compensation, minimum wage, and the sunset of the income tax increase.
Register at www.PeoriaChamber.org!
APRIL 28Legislative Reception
at the Packard Plaza5:00 - 7:00 PM
APRIL 30Capitol Visit
8:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Member FeatureWe’ve grown, yet again! The Hult Center for Healthy Living is pleased to add Mental Health and the Encore! Senior programs to our growing number of services provided to over 70,000 members of our communities. We are now proudly providing over 75 programs and services for cancer patients, families and caregivers; education and health programs and classes for youth; mental health awareness & prevention programs and anonymous online mental health screenings; and programs to help se-niors live an active and healthy lifestyle. With that being said, we are so proud to be able to say that 100% of your dollars stay local and allow us to continue as the premier non-profit provider of comprehensive health education and wellness services for people of all ages. Please join us at one of our upcoming events and help us fulfill our mission of “empowering people to live healthier lives.”
16th Annual Spirit of Living | Saturday, April 26, 2014 | Par-A-Dice Hotel Casino We invite you to join us as we honor and recognize those who are an inspiration to our community and our organization, as well as, an eve-ning with a True American Hero behind one of the most sensational global news stories of the past five years.
4th Annual Mike Seneca Golf Classic | Friday, May 16, 2014 | WeaverRidge Golf Club We are introducing a new twist to the outing this year by adding hole challenges, best dressed prizes and many fun surprises!
11th Annual Whitney’s Walk for Life | Saturday, July 26, 2014 | Jubilee College State Park Walk, run or bring a team and join us on this beautiful morning to help us raise awareness for emotional and mental health issues and suicide prevention programs.
17th annual Lobster Roast of Matt George| Saturday, September 13, 2014 | Weaver Angus Farm If you missed last year’s Roast, you definitely want to join us for a night of laughter, delicious food and a party like no other! Patti Bash says “It’s payback time!”
Uncorked! The HOTTEST Wine & Food Tasting in Town| Friday, October 10, 2014 |Par-A-Dice Hotel CasinoJoin us for a fabulous night of dancing and sampling of the finest wines, craft beer and hors d’oeuvres. It’s the party of the year and you won’t want to miss it!
For more information about our events, to get involved and learn more about our programs and services visit us at www.hulthealthy.org, like us on Facebook or contact us at 309.692.6650.
I would like to introduce myself to the membership of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. My name is Suzy Watkins, and I have been serving as Director of Sales for the Chamber since June of 2013. My job is to grow membership and provide value to our members through our extensive list of benefits.
As part of the staff of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, I am dedicated to operating under our four guiding principles: to be the leading voice in the region through political advocacy, to be inclusive and diversive in our approach to work, to advocate for the improvement of the quality of place in the region, and maintain resources for strong leadership
development. If you have any questions regarding how to take advantage of what the Chamber has to offer, please feel free to give me a call! I am happy to meet with you at any time, as I most enjoy meeting our members face-to-face. Thank you so much for your continuing support of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce!
Sincerely,
Suzy WatkinsDirector of [email protected]
Dear Readers,
Hult’s At It Again!
Business BriefsAdvance Correctional Health-care welcomes Jason Bal-lenger as Regional Nurse Manager to the team.
Better Banks is pleased to announce the addition of Michael R. Stratton, Jr. to their Board of Directors.
CASA of Peoria County wel-comes six new members, Gwenne Henricks, Stacy Ben-jatka Robins, Jennifer Sharp, Nancy Overcash, Brian Neme-noff, and Teri Cook to their Board of Directors. In addi-tion, Gwenne Henricks was elected Board President.
The CEO Council is pleased to announce the promotion of Jim Lynch to Executive Director.
Children’s Home Associa-tion of Illinois is pleased to announce the promotion of Tegan Hewitt to Director of Behavioral Health Services.
Envision Insurance Group is excited to announce the ad-dition of Dawn Thurston to their personnel.
Maurer-Stutz, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of Jim Schmudde, PE, SE to their structural engineering team.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Cen-ter is excited to announce that Dr. Brian Silverstein has been appointed to the OSF Healthcare Systems Board of Directors.
Quinn, Johnson, Henderson, Pretorius & Cerulo is pleased to announce the addition of five partners, Stephen M. Buck, Kenneth R. Eathington,
business movesTyler D. Petersen, Jeffrey A. Ryva, and Kimberly A. Sarff, to the office.
State Bank of Speer is proud to announce that Daniel Klumpp has been added to their staff as Investment Officer.
TruGreen is proud to announce the promotion of Jeff Kramer to Branch Sales Manager.
news
The Chamber Report (USPS-097-250) is the official publication of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. It is published monthly at 100 SW Water Street, Peoria, IL 61602, phone: 309.495.5900. An annual subscription is $10. Periodical postage paid in Peoria, Illinois 61601 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER - Send address changes to: The Chamber Report, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, 100 SW Water Street, Peoria, Illinois 61602.
awards & recognition
Central States Media is pleased to announce that they have re-ceived national re-certification as a Women’s Business Enter-prise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). They also received numerous American Advertis-ing Awards from the Peoria Ad Club, including a Judge’s Choice Award for the design of the website for Running Cen-tral.
Illinois CancerCare was re-cently presented with a Silver award at the annual Ameri-can Advertising Awards for their “World Class Cancer Treatment” branding cam-paign.
MAACO is excited to be named a certified center by the fran-chise chain’s home office.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center was recently honored by the American Advertising Federation in Peoria with top honors for several communi-ty-facing advertising cam-paigns. OSF was honored in several different categories including winning “Best of Show” with Ted (What is an
ACO?) video campaign.
Shamrock Plastics is pleased to announce that they have been approved for Caterpillar Supplier Quality Excellence Process recertification at the Platinum Level which is the highest quality achievable.
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK re-cently recognized their top franchise performers includ-ing Bob Christensen and Cory Christensen for their Peoria location. They received the “Achievement in Excellence” award for being top perform-ers across all metrics.
Walters Brothers Harley-Da-vidson is proud to announce that they have been awarded Harley-Davidson Motor Com-pany’s Bronze Bar & Shield Circle of Recognition.
Local Peoria area residents, Tom D. Goodell, Karen Washington-Watson, and Julie Caron Sims, have been honored with social works awards. Tom D. Goodell was awarded Public Citizen of the Year. Karen Washington-Watson works for Vitas In-novative Hospice Care and was honored as Social Worker of the Year. Julie Caron Sims works at FamilyCore and was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
AAA Certified Confiden-tial Security is proud to an-nounce that their President, Tom Simpson, has been se-lected to serve as a panelist at the National Association
for Information Destruction (NAID) Annual Conference.
Children’s Home Association of Illinois launched its Indi-vidualized Placement Support & Services (IPS) employment program that helps youth with diagnoses of mental illness get matched with partner employ-ers to encourage the pursuit of career interests.
Comcast Business is holding an “Innovations 4 Entrepre-neurs” contest aimed at entre-preneurs that are resourcefully leveraging technology to en-hance customer and employee experiences.
Goodwill Industries of Cen-tral Illinois is offering a new, free program called Career Pathways: Bridge to Success that assists young adults with career and/or college prepara-tion. It is a joint effort between Goodwill of Central Illinois, Illinois Central College and Workforce Network.
Junior League of Peoria Inc. hosted its sixth annual Frolic with the Fairies Mother Daugh-ter Tea and Style Show.
Illinois CancerCare has recent-ly collaborated on a clinical trial that has found that add-ing chemotherapy following radiation treatment improves survival rates for adults with low-grade gliomas by approxi-mately five and a half years.
Midstate College is pleased to announce that for the 2014-15 academic years, the tuition will not be raised.
Peoria Park District is pleased to announce that Glen Oak
Business Briefs The Business Briefs are an excellent marketing opportunity offered to Chamber members. Submit items of interest to the editor to [email protected]. Information must be received by the 10th of the month to be included in next month’s issue. All content subject to editorial review.
Park and its Power of Play cam-paign have been selected for “Heart Your Park,” a program introduced as part of Macy’s “Secret Garden” campaign, which aims to raise aware-ness and dollars for local parks across the country.
Comprehensive Bleeding Dis-orders Center is pleased to announce that Salt, Kelleher’s Irish Pub & Eatery, and The Publik House are among the competitors in the inaugural Great Bloody Mary Mix Off Fundraiser.
University of Illinois College of Medicine will be selling exclu-sive Stop Child Abuse Special Event License Plates with the Pediatric Resource Center to help fight child abuse in Cen-tral Illinois.
Volunteers like you make the Chamber a stronger organization. We are currently
seeking new volunteers to fill our committees for the upcoming fiscal year, which
starts on June 1. Please e-mail Jolene Cole at [email protected] if you
are interested in serving on any of the following committees:
Get Involved
Finance Committee – Monitors the financial condition of the Chamber – Reviews and recommends finance policy changes – Assists in the development of the annual budget and other finance related duties Government Affairs Committee – Reviews legislative priorities – Develops the Chamber’s legislative agenda and makes recommendations regarding those positions to the Chamber’s Board of Directors – Develops and maintains relationships with area elected officials – Oversees government affairs programming as needed Membership and Marketing Committee – Supports the Chamber’s sales and marketing team in brainstorming ideas and strategies for events and projects – Assists in fulfilling roll outs on specific projects when assistance is needed Education/Workforce Committee – Works to improve our “Quality of Place” by focusing on pre-hire (K-12+) educational development with school districts in Greater Peoria – Works to serve our membership by focusing on post-hire continuing education and leadership development Transportation Committee – Reviews transportation policies and projects (road, air, barge, bus, etc) – Recommends positions and actions to the Chamber’s Board of Directors as needed
The Chamber also has several Program Committees that work with staff in developing and improving our programs. This includes, but isn’t limited to:
Ambassadors, who work with new Chamber members to help them fully engage and benefit from their membership, serve as greeters for Chamber events, and attend ribbon cuttings. Business Showcase Committee assists in planning and executing the Chamber’s annual business to business trade show. Award Judging Committee assists in judging various Chamber awards including the Tom Connor Volunteer Award, Small Business Awards, ATHENA Award, and more.
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When commercial energy purchasing was deregulated in Illinois, the Peoria Area Chamber partnered with CQI Associates to establish a Commercial Energy Purchasing Cooperative for its members. Since then, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce - CQI Energy Cooperative has helped hundreds of area businesses realize long-term budget stability.
Benefits of the Peoria Area Chamber Commercial Energy Cooperative:• Increased Purchasing Power in procuring electric and natural gas at
competitive rates to businesses• Historically, the average co-op member Saves about the equivalent of
their July electrical bill and/or their February natural gas bill.• Budget Stability (no more ‘roller coaster costs’) by offering Fixed Rate
energy supply costs• Assistance in being Proactive in fulfilling energy buying needs• We offer the opportunity for businesses to share in the valuable energy Expertise that the cooperative provides
This program offers free informational seminars and webinars about energy deregulation and valuable insight into energy procurement options. CQI manages the member education and bid phases of the program, oversees the transition of the members’ energy accounts, and offers continuing technical expertise to members throughout the term of the energy contracts. Learn how your business can benefit from joining the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce - CQI Commercial Energy Purchasing Cooperative by visiting www.cqiassociates.com or calling 217-855-8417 for more information.
Chamber NewsBenefit of the Month
Peoria Shops Washington!In collaboration with the City of Peoria, City of Washington, and the Washington Chamber of Commerce, the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is planning a Shop Washington weekend April 11, 12 and 14.
CityLink will be providing a bus for shoppers on Saturday, April 12. The bus will depart from the Riverfront Clock Tower in front of the Spirit of Peoria at 10 am, with stops planned at Cherry Tree Shopping Center, Valley Forge Shopping Plaza, and Washington Square. The bus will return to Peoria at 3 pm.
Networking with our Members...
Members of the Peoria Area business community gathered at Ameren Illinois for Business Before Hours in February. This session, hosted by the Ameren Illinois ActOnEnergy Business Program, included a presentation on how area businesses have reduced their energy bills with energy ef-ficient equpiment and cash incentives from ActOnEnergy.
Business community members had a great time at our March Business After Hours, hosted by Commerce Bank. Our members had the opportunity to enjoy drinks and hors d’oeurves from Kickapoo Creek Winery.
Interested in hosting Business Before or After Hours? Visit www.PeoriaChamber.org to fill out an application.
Add us!
facebook.com/PeoriaChamber | twitter.com/PeoriaChamber
April 10th4:30 - 6:30 PM100 NE Water StreetPeoria, IL 61602
Business After Hours
April 22nd7:45 - 9:00 AM801 W Main StreetPeoria, IL 61606
Save the date!
Business Before Hours
Consociate Self-Funded Solutions are Smart for your Business
452 N. Main St. | East Peoria, IL 61611www.consociate.com
If you, or your benefits consultant, would like to sit down with the President & CEO of Consociate to learn more about Consociate’s self-funding solutions for your group health plan, please contact:
•Broker/ConsultantFriendly
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vsFully-Insured
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•ControlofPlanDesign
•LocalProviderNetworkAccess
•LocalandSuperiorService Darren D. Reynolds, JDPresident & CEO
Consociate
Darren Reynolds at 309-694-5002 or at [email protected]
Interested in advertising in the Chamber Report? Contact Suzy Watkins at [email protected] for more information on purchasing ad space.
Chamber 101May 12th3:00 PMChamber Board Room100 SW Water StreetPeoria, IL 61602
Our Chamber 101 sessions will show you all the ways
you can benefit from your membership. All members
are welcome!
Are you using your membership to the full advantage?
100 SW Water St. Peoria, Illinois 61602
Contact us! Please notify the Chamber at 309.495.5900 or
[email protected] of nameand address changes or additions.
We Build Responsive* Lead-Generating Websites
AdCoAgency.com 309.692.7880
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