AUGUST, 2008 – GENERAL MEETING
The August, 2008 Chamber general meeting will be held on Thursday, August 7th, at 8:00 AM, at Myron & Phil Steak & Seafood, 3900 W. Devon Avenue, (847) 677-6663. The Chamber thanks Mark Freedman for hosting this meeting and Maria G. Monastero from Monastero’s Ristorante for hosting our July general meeting. If you want to host a general meeting call the Chamber at (773) 775-0378. Hosting a meeting is great for increasing the exposure of your business.
AUGUST GUEST SPEAKER
Make sure to attend the August general meeting! The Chamber’s own David Wians of State Farm Insurance will discuss the do’s and don’ts of Business Insurance, Worker’s Compensation, and Group Health Insurance.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
The next Board of Directors’ meeting will be held on Thursday, September 18th at 4:30 PM at the Edgebrook Public Library, 5331 W. Devon Avenue (312) 744-8313. Thanks, as always, to Katherine Panares for providing our wonderful meeting room.
NEW CHAMBER PARKING LOT POLICY
The Chamber’s parking lot is intended for the use of patrons of Edgebrook businesses, not business owners, their employees or METRA passengers. Several cars have been towed. Please remember that a two-hour maximum parking limit is being strictly enforced (7:00 AM until 9:00 PM each day (Sunday through Monday). Overnight parking is prohibited and cars found in the lot after midnight will be towed. Please respect other shoppers and their right to use the parking lot. A special thanks goes out to Richard Murawski from Koenig & Strey, GMAC Real Estate for his generous donation to the parking lot fund!
SIGNUP FOR THE BANNER PROGRAM
The Chamber’s Street Banner Program is going great guns and the first 24 banners have been hung! Applications are still being accepted. A Standard Banner is $300 and a Custom Banner is $350. The program includes a five-year maintenance program that covers: re-hanging, repair and replacement of your banner. A purchase form is included in this newsletter. The Chamber thanks the following for recently participating in the program:
State Representative John C. D’Amico
County Commissioner Peter N. Silvestri
Richard Murawski, Koenig & Strey, GMAC
Colleen Gill, Moher Public House
2008 WELCOME PACKET PROGRAM
The business response to the Chamber’s request for promotional items for the Chamber’s Welcome Packet program has been terrific! You can dropyour promotional items off at the Chamber office or bring them to any general meeting. This is just another FREE way the Chamber helps a chamber member to advertise their business.
ULTIMATE BUSINESS NETWORKING!
Once again, over twenty Chambers of Commerce and Community Groups are hosting their annual Ultimate Networking Event on Thursday, September 18th from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM at the Irish American Heritage Center located at 4626 N. Knox Avenue. For a nominal $15 admission fee, businesses will receive great exposure, unlimited networking with potential new clients and dine on a wide selection of delicious local food! The chamber is seeking the donation of food items and raffle prizes. There will be tables for businesses to display their promotional items. Please take advantage and drop off your promotional items at the office. If you need additional information about this great event, please call the chamber at (773) 775-0378.
2008 BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ ELECTIONS
The annual process of preparing a slate of Chamber Officers and Directors for 2008-2009 has started and it is anticipated the slate will be presented to general membership at the September 4th general meeting to be voted upon. If you are a chamber member and have the willingness to be an active committee volunteer, contact the Chamber and throw your hat into the ring! New ideas are needed to better serve local residents & businesses in 2009.
CITY OF LITTER NOTICE
Each year, the City of Chicago spends millions of dollars to clean-up litter. Refuse causes neighborhoods and business districts to look rundown and deteriorated. The City has implemented an aggressive anti-littering program and you can download it at: www.cityofchicago.org/streetsandsanitation.
EDGEBROOK FESTIVAL – 2008
The Edgebrook Festival 2008 is over and by all accounts it was a wonderful event for all who participated in it! The Festival offered patrons:
18-hours of live music featuring a wide-variety of great local bands (thanks to Pat Lyons, our music coordinator); a superb lineup of local food vendors including: Myron and Phil Steak and Seafood (thanks to Mark Freedman our food vendor coordinator), Moher Public House, Village Inn Pizza, Tanzitaro and the Golden Phoenix restaurant; an expanded Kids Corner that offered tons of family fun; and over 50 artisans, crafters and chamber businesses offering a wide-variety of products and services for local residents. If you were unable to attend, you missed out on a lot of fun. If you have any comments about the festival, please forward them to the Chamber office. We want to know what you think. The festival committee will meet shortly to review the event
to make it better for next year.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!
Koenig & Strey, GMAC Real Estate located at 5364 W. Devon Avenue, is a full-service realtor serving Edgebrook, Sauganash, Lincolnwood and surrounding communities. They also provide a free market analysis for their clients. Call Managing Broker Richard Murawski at (773) 435-4301 for an appointment.
RE/MAX – CityVew is a full-service realtor that recently located an office in Edgebrook (6430 N. Central Avenue). Call Robert Padron at (773) 631-8260 for an appointment.
NEWSLETTER ADVERTISEMENTS:
Newsletter advertisements are available for $100 a calendar year. Mail your business card to the Chamber by the 20th of each month. The Chamber thanks Richard Murawski from Koenig & Strey, GMAC Real Estate for taking out a new newsletter advertisement!
CITY HOME REPAIR SEMINARS
The City of Chicago’s Department of Consumer Services is currently hosting Home Repair Fraud seminars. Each year, homeowners (especially the elderly) become victims of home repair fraud. The next seminar will be held at the West Side Technical Institute (2800 S. Western Avenue) from 10:00 AM until Noon. For more information call (312) 744-4006 or visit their website at: www.cityofchicago.org.consumerservices.
READ GREEN – LIVE GREEN
The Chamber’s own Brandon Leavitt from Solar Service, Inc., in conjunction with the Chicago Public Library, the City of Chicago’s Department of Environment and the Garfield Park Conservatory, will lead a discussion about the Library’s Read Green, Live Green program regarding renewable energy at the Edgebrook Branch Library on August 26, 2008 starting at 7:00 PM.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
AUGUST 7TH – 8:00 AM
General Meeting
Myron and Phil – Steak and Seafood
3900 W. Devon Avenue
SEPTEMBER 4TH – 8:00 AM
General Meeting
Edgebrook Bank
6000 W. Touhy Avenue
SEPTEMBER 18TH – 4:30 PM
Board of Directors Meeting
Edgebrook Branch – Chicago Public Library
5331 W. Devon Avenue
SEPTEMBER 18TH – 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Ultimate Networking Event
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N. Knox Avenue
OCTOBER 2ND – 8:00 AM
General Meeting
Monastero’s Ristorante & Banquets
3935 W. Devon Avenue