SEPTEMBER, 2009 – GENERAL MEETING:
The Chamber’s September, 2009 general meeting will be held on Thursday, September 3rd, at 8:00 a.m. at the East of Edens restaurant, 6350 N. Cicero Avenue, (773) 545-8888. The Chamber would like to thank Peter Spryopoulos for hosting this meeting and Mark Freedman from Myron & Phil Steak and Seafood restaurant for hosting our August general meeting.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING:
The next Board of Directors’ meeting will be held on Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM (special time due to the Ultimate Networking Event starting at 5:30 p.m.) at the Edgebrook Public Library, 5331 W. Devon Avenue (312) 744-8313. Thanks again to Kathryn Panares for providing our meeting room.
2010 BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ ELECTIONS:
Included in this newsletter is the board slate, ratified by the Board of Directors’ at their July 16, 2009 meeting. The slate will now be voted on at the September 3rd general meeting by chamber members in attendance. The Chamber thanks everyone who got involved and it looks forward to another great year! If you would like to volunteer for a chamber committee, please call the chamber office at (773) 775-0378.
ULTIMATE BUSINESS NETWORKING EVENT:
The Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce along with twenty other chambers and community groups are hosting the 5th annual Ultimate Networking Event on Thursday, September 17th (5:30 pm – 9:00 pm) at the Irish American Heritage Center located at 4626 N. Knox Avenue. A nominal $15 admission fee provides you with great business to business exposure and unlimited networking opportunities with new clients, while dining on a wide selection of delicious local food! The chamber is seeking the donation of food items and businesses that would like to sponsor this event.
Sponsoring businesses will have tables available to display their promotional items. If you need additional information about this great event, please call the chamber at (773) 775-0378.
CONGRATULATIONS TO DONNA’S GARDEN!!!
The chamber would like to recognize Harriet Luden, owner of Donna’s Garden, as she celebrates her 20th anniversary running the best florist shop on the northwest side of Chicago and beyond! Harriet is also a very civic-minded person as she is or has been an active member of numerous community organizations and supports them in every way possible. Congratulations Harriet and the chamber wishes you many more years of success!
EDGEBROOK POST OFFICE STATION AT RISK!
A recent article in Nadig Newspapers August 8, 2009 edition of the “Reporter & Journal,” indicate the Chicago U.S. Postal Service is studying the possibility of closing as many as 24 of its retail sites, include the Edgebrook station location at 5424 W. Devon Avenue. The chamber strongly believes Edgebrook residents and businesses will be severely impacted if the our retail post office station were to be closed. Every Edgebrook resident and business must be heard from on this matter. The chamber encourages you to write to and/or call your local post office retail station to voice your deep concern. Write to: Edgebrook Postal Service, 5424 W. Devon Ave; Chicago, IL, 60646, or call (773-763-5370). Don’t allow your local post office to be closed without a fight. Stand up and be counted!
2009 CHAMBER INSTALLATION DINNER:
The chamber’s annual Installation Dinner will be held on October 8, 2009 (5:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) at Myron & Phil Steak and Seafood Restaurant (3900 W. Devon Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL). This is a great way for you to meet your new Board of Directors for 2009-2010! The Honorable Patrick J. Levar, Alderman of the 45th Ward will be in attendance to swear-in the new Board. An economical $35.00 will afford you with a primo selection of dinner entrees especially selected for you by owner, Mark Freedman! Take advantage of yet another chamber sponsored networking opportunity.
AUTUMN MULTI-CHAMBER LUNCHEON:
The Edgebrook Chamber of Commerce along with the Albany Park Community Center, Lincolnwood Chamber of Commerce, Pulaski-Elston Business Association and the Sauganash Chamber of Commerce are co-hosting an “Autumn Multi-Chamber Luncheon” on October 8, 2009 (11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.) at Monastero’s Ristorante (3900 W. Devon Avenue). The guest speaker will be Wade Rousee from the Federal Reserve Bank who will give attendees an economic update for 2010. The luncheon will cost members of any of the above organizations a mere $20.00 and non-members $30.00. Reserve your spot now!
CHICAGO TECH EXPO:
Are you loosing customers to the Internet? Is your boring website killing your business? Are you wasting valuable time on manual processing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should be attending the “Chicago TechExpo” on October 1, 2009 (UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Road, 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.) sponsored by the City’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. This conference could help you increase profits through the use of the internet and reduce your costs by leveraging new technology. For more info, call (312) 744-5430 or visit their website at: www.chicagotechexpo.net.
CHICAGO 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 the information at: www.cityofchicago.org/streetsandsanitation.
MY CARBON FOOTPRINT:
By Eco Chic
I have begun to wonder how my actions affect the planet. I know it is not earth friendly to set the thermostat to 68 degrees in August. I also realize that my spacious (yet practical!) sedan sends clouds of CO2 into the air.
The amount of greenhouse gas emissions a person contributes to the atmosphere is their carbon footprint. As this is the age of the internet, numerous websites are available to help the environmentally curious calculate their impact on global warming.
I first turned to the EPA (www.epa.gov/climatechange). It’s the U.S. government – must be credible! Then again, the IRS is also the government. I hoped this wasn’t going to be complicated and involve forms, schedules and me paying money.
My fears were groundless. I filled in some information on my household size, my vehicle (miles per gallon and annual mileage), and gas and electricity use at my house. I figured that I would do quite well because I got a few bonus points for recycling.
Most websites report carbon footprints in tons of CO2 emitted annually. According to the EPA, I emit 10.0 tons of CO2. This seems like a lot! The U.S. average for a household of my size is 9.4 tons. Where did I go wrong? I am Eco Chic! I can’t be polluting above the average U.S. polluter!!! There are other websites. I’m getting a second opinion!
I turned to the Cool Climate calculator (www.coolclimate.berkeley.edu) I filled out the information about household size, utility use, and car mileage. This calculator also asked about air travel and personal expenditures. On this website I am a model of ecological living. My footprint is 28 tons of CO2 per year versus the US average of 42 tons!
My Cool Climate footprint is much higher than my EPA footprint because air travel and expenditures were included. Somewhat obsessively, I next visited Conservation International (www.conservation.org), The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org ), and Carbon Footprint (www.carbonfootprint.com).
These sites went into further detail about lifestyle, especially eating habits. Vegan good. Red meat bad! (This is not an animal rights thing – it takes significantly more energy to produce a pound of meat calories than it does to produce a pound of vegetable calories). My results varied widely (from 18 tons to 34 tons!)
What’s the bottom line? Measuring a carbon footprint is an inexact science – but, we all have one! Reducing my pollution involves more than just turning down the thermostat. Eliminating unnecessary consumption and recycling are part. I could reduce my air travel. I can eat less meat. Maybe I should consider that hybrid! In any event, I took the first step by thinking more about the impact of my actions.
CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS:
SEPTEMBER 3RD – 8:00 AM
General Meeting
East of Edens Restaurant
6350 N. Cicero Avenue
SEPTEMBER 17TH – 4:00 PM
Board of Directors’ Meeting
Edgebrook Branch – Chicago Public Library
5331 W. Devon Avenue
SEPTEMBER 17TH – 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Ultimate Networking Event
Irish American Heritage Center
4626 N. Knox Avenue
OCTOBER 1ST – 8:00 AM
General Meeting
North Shore Community Bank & Trust – Sauganash
4343 W. Peterson Avenue
OCTOBER 8TH – 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Autumn Multi-Chamber Luncheon
Monastero’s Ristorante
3935 W. Devon Avenue
OCTOBER 8TH – 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM
Edgebrook Chamber’s Annual Installation Dinner
Myron & Phil Steak and Seafood Restaurant
3900 W. Devon Avenue, Lincolnwood, IL