Chamber Connection - Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce

Chamber Connection
Established 1893
We promote the growth of the Pekin area
through the collective effort of our members
www.pekin.net
In This Issue:
 New Directors and
Officers, 1
 Chamber Calendar of
Events, 2
Bus. After Hours, 2
New Directors, 2-3
 Recent Chamber
Events Held, 4
Bus After Hours,
Puttin’ on Pekin,
Tech Show n’ Tell
 New Members, 5
 Mitel 3000 , 6
 Multi- Chamber
Speed Networking
Exchange, 7
 Staples Advantage, 8
 Membership
Announcements, 9
May 2011
Chamber Elects New Directors and Officers
The Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce held their annual meeting on April 25th at
the Pekin Country Club. Two-hundred twenty members and guests attended the
reception and short business meeting, followed by entertainment with an
inspirational message from Stephen Bargatze.
Five members of the Board of Directors retired, as their terms were completed.
Recognized for their service were: Aindrea Balagna, Wolf Tesar & Company;
Dave Calhoun, Let It Shine; Jim Kouri, Kouri‟s Pub; Mary Ann Ladendorf, Coldwell
Banker Honig-Bell; and, Scott Lange, Pekin Union Mission Society. Also
recognized was Mike Vonderheide from Vonderheide Floor Coverings, who
completed his service to the board as Past President.
The membership elected new directors in March and they were introduced. They
are Courtney Antonini, John Dennison, Greg Henderson, Scott Kriegsman, and
Brent Morgan. See the next pages for their stories.
The newly seated board then elected officers for the next year. They are
President, Skip Schermerhorn, Herget Bank; President Elect, Drew Leman, Leman
Property Management; Vice President, Tom Hornstein, Excalibur Seasoning
Company; Treasurer, Aindrea Balagna, Wolf Tesar and Company; and, Past
President, Althea Geiser, B‟Ribboned, Etc. Balagna is the newest officer, while
the others all are assuming new roles for the year.
 Membership
Renewals, Chamber
Board and
Ambassadors, 10
Aindrea Balagna
Wolf, Tesar & Company, P.C.
Aindrea is a partner with Wolf, Tesar & Company, P.C.,
managing income taxes, accounting services, and business
consulting. She is also Treasurer of St Joseph School. She is
involved in the Parent‟s Club at the schooland is an Education
Commission member. Aindrea and her husband Matthew
enjoy spending time with their children, Alyson and Kelsie. She
also enjoys fishing, camping, reading, and gardening.
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Chamber events and
committee meetings
are also online:
 Visit our website @
www.pekin.net
Chamber Calendar of Events
May 3 Ambassador Meeting
May 4 Executive Board Meeting
May 5 Pekin 1st Committee
May 5 Business After Hours
 Use the drop down box May 11 Transportation Committee
for Chamber
Resources
 Click the Calendar
May 11 Board of Directors Meeting
May 12 Tech and Tell
May 18 Marigold Festival Committee
May 10 Member Services Committee
May 30 Memorial Day
May 31 Business Advocacy Committee
Business After Hours
May 5th
4:30-6:00 pm
Velde Cadillac Buick
GMC
Reservations Appreciated
346-2106 or
Chamber@Pekin.net
Join us for networking,
refreshments, door prizes
and tours.
May 5th
Velde Cadillac
Buick GMC
2220 N. 8th St.
Chamber Elects Five New Directors
Greg Henderson
Henderson Funeral Home
Greg Henderson along with his wife, Marla, own
Henderson Funeral Home. He has been affiliated
with the funeral home for over 30 years. Greg
graduated from Worsham College of Mortuary
Science in 1980. He is a member, past president and
treasurer of St. Paul United Church of Christ in
Pekin. He also was named a Paul Harris Fellow by
the Pekin Rotary Club in 1996 and is a past
president of that organization.
Additionally, Greg is a board member and President
of Pekin Main Street, Pekin Marigold Festival
Committee, Salvation Army Advisory Board, Past President of IFDA District #8, as
well as a member of Moose Lodge #916, and Pekin Elks Lodge #1271. Greg is
involved with St. Jude, has been a VIP for the Central Illinois telethon, co-founder
of the "A Toast for the St. Jude Kids" committee and has done the Memphis to
Peoria run for St. Jude twice. Greg resides in Pekin with his wife, Marla, son,
Ryan, and daughters, Lauren and Mallory and grandchildren, Brayden and Alexis
Phillips.
(continued on page 3)
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Brent Morgan
Contact Us
402 Court Street
Pekin, IL 61554
Ph: (309) 346-2106
Fax: (309) 346-2104
E-mail:
chamber@pekin.net
Website:
www.pekin.net
Blog:
http://pekinchamber.
blogspot.com
Marigold Blog:
http://marigoldfestival.
blogspot.com
Scan to add the
Chamber to your
Contacts!
Your Chamber Staff
Bill Fleming,
Executive Director
Jamie Di Donato,
Events Manager
Diane Sego,
Receptionist
Timbercreek Rehab and Health Care
Brent is the manager of Timbercreek Rehab and
Health Care, overseeing all aspects of their daily
business. Brent has been an active member of the
Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce for the last
several years, serving on the Member Services
Committee, July 4th Committee and graduating from
the R. David Tebeen Community Leadership
Academy. He is also a member of the Kiwanis Club
of Pekin, as well as a director on their board. Brent
and his wife Amy recently welcomed their daughter
Kallie Elizabeth. He enjoys spending time with his
family and friends, watching and participating in
several sports activities and traveling.
Courtney Antonini
Tazewell County
Courtney is employed by Tazewell County as a Court
Administrator and is active in many community
organizations. She is the current President of the
YWCA Board of Directors and serves on the Board of
Directors of the Kiwanis Club of Pekin and Pekin
Main Street. She is also a member of P.E.O.
Philanthropic Educational Organization. Courtney
and her husband, Brett enjoy spending time with their
dogs, Bella & Killarney as well as running, reading
and cooking.
John Dennison
Ray Dennison Chevrolet
John is employed at Ray Dennison Chevrolet,
managing the finance and sales departments as well
as lender relations and training. He is also very
active in several organizations: Sigma Phi EpsilonAlumnus, St. Vincent DePaul, I.A.D.A., N.A.D.A., and
Blessed Sacrament Church. John and his wife,
Cara, enjoy spending time with their children Julia,
Sophie and Luke. He enjoys running, exercising,
basketball, hiking and music.
Scott Kriegsman
Elliff, Keyser, Oberle and Dancey, P.C.
Scott is employed at Elliff, Keyser, Oberle and
Dancey, P.C. as an Associate Attorney, carrying an
individual caseload. He is also involved with the
Community Relations Board in the Federal
Correctional Institution of Pekin, and is Secretary of
the Tazewell County Bar Association. Scott enjoys
golf, athletics, reading, and fishing.
Brittney Beal,
Office Assistant
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Business After Hours Held
Thanks to Allen & Associates for hosting the April 7th Business
After Hours. Rather than holding it at their office, the event was
held at one of their new
homes in the Deerfield
Estates subdivision. A
great turnout of chamber
members was there to see
the new construction and
here about the growing
subdivision. You can see
more pictures from this and
other chamber events:
http://picasaweb.google.co
m/PekinChamber
Puttin’ on Pekin
About 60 chamber members
attended the April 8th Puttin'
On Pekin breakfast held at
the Knights of Columbus
Hall. Dave Osborn from
Trouble Free Plumbing won
the early prize, while Michael
Ragan from the Illinois
Department of Employment
Security won the late prize.
Renna Hadsall accepted the
Spotlight on Business Award for Busey Bank. The Blue Ribbon
Award was given to Amanda Rogy at Amanda's Closet, and the
YWCA of Pekin was presented with the Sunshine Award. Jim Lynch
from Goodwill Industries of Central Illinois was the speaker.
Tech Show ‘n Tell
Your Ad Here!
Contact us to find out how
you can advertise your
company here
as well as our blog.
Ten chamber members got together on Thursday, April 14th at the
Avanti‟s Dome for free coffee and “show and tell.” This was the
second month for this informal gathering. Some of the participants
were there to listen, while others shared and demonstrated new
technologies, apps, or gadgets they use to be more efficient and
effective at work.
Last month we discussed QR Codes and accepting credit card
payments with your smart phone. This month we discussed
downloading e-books from the Pekin Public Library, Quixey (a
search engine for apps), Seize the Deal and Groupon advertising
opportunities, some of the new phones and tablets and $G networks
that are available or coming soon to Verizon Wireless and Sprint
Wireless Express, Screencast-o-matic (a free tool to make simple
online screen-shot tutorials) and, Animoto (a free tool to make and
share slideshows with music and voice-overs).
The next Tech Show „n Tell will be Thursday, May 12th at 7:30 am
the Avanti‟s Dome. Join us and share your tech tips.
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New Members
Please welcome the following new members to the Pekin
Area Chamber of Commerce.
Erik W. Reader, Pekin IL 61554; Individual Member
Kuk Sool Won of Pekin.,1530 N 8th Street, Pekin IL 61554;
phone: 309-346-3466; yates1675@yahoo.com;
www.kuksoolwonofpekin.com; Michael Yates, Owner; Teresa
Yates, Director of Operations; Business hours 5:00 pm - 9:00
pm Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Saturday. Kuk Sool
Won of Pekin is a Korean martial arts studio that teaches the
Traditional Korean Martial Art of Kuk Sool. They provide
martial arts instruction to children, adults, and seniors. Kuk
Sool Won strives to promote self-confidence and selfdiscipline through effective self-defense.
TimbukTech Inc., 486 N. Main Street, Canton, IL 61520;
phone: 309-647-7269; fax: 309-740-7320;
www.timbuktech.com/; Robert Walker, Executive Account
Manager; Scott Brown, Owner; Matt Roe, Owner; Office
hours: 8:30 am – 6:00 pm Monday - Thursday, 8:30 am – 5:00
pm Friday; 10:00 am – 2:00 pm on Saturday. TimbukTech is
an affordable option to maintaining networks and workstations
for businesses. TimbukTech becomes your IT team. They
specialize in network development, remote back-up, anti-virus
protection, hosting, VOIP telephones, DVR security systems,
and Lenovo computers, software, and hardware. Lenovo
authorized.
Chemtura Agrosolutions., 2320 Lakecrest Drive, Pekin IL
61554; phone: 309-347-2184;/www.chemtura.com; Robin
Thomas, Plant Manager; Debbie Gardner, Office Manager;
Fran Bourdeall Jr, Production Supervisor; Business hours
7:30 am - 4:00 pm. Chemtura Agrosolutions packages and
formulates seed enhancement products.
Bill Neff Video Productions., 1409 Lincoln Street, Pekin IL
61554; phone: 309-264-5369; fax: 309-402-0253;
BillNeffVideo@gmail.com; www.billneffvideo.com; Bill Neff,
Owner. Bill Neff Video Productions specializes in high
definition video productions of community events, sports, web
casts, commercials, and multi-camera productions.
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Membership Announcements
For all the details regarding these announcements, visit our blog @ http://pekinchamber.blogspot.com
AAIM Employers’ Association
is pleased to announce the
“Benefits Boot Camp” conference
in East Peoria: Tuesday, May
th
17 at Par-A-Dice Hotel, 21
Blackjack Blvd. Benefits Boot
Camp is a one-day seminar that
will provide participants with
tangible tools and information to
apply to real business needs.
Conference times will be from
8:00 am- 2:45 pm. Registration
fees are $179 AAIM/EA Members
and /$225 for non-members.
Please call 1-800-948-5700 for
reservations/ information.
The YWCA of Pekin will be
hosting the 30th Annual Women‟s
Recognition Day luncheon on
Thursday, May 12th at the Pekin
Country Club. Reservations are
open to the public and must be
made by May 5th. Reservation
forms are available at the YWCA
during regular business hours or
on the YWCA‟s website. For
more information, call the YWCA
at 347-2104.
The Redbrand Credit Union
Board of Directors announces the
appointment of Kelly Whitaker as
President / Manager. Mrs.
Whitaker has been an employee
of the Credit Union for 11 years.
Previous to this she held the
position of Executive Vice
President.
Act On Energy® has expanded
its offer and now all Ameren
Illinois electric customers can
receive up to six CFLs FREE.
Also, the current offer, which
reduces already significantly,
discounted products an additional
50% has been extended until May
th
15 . These free products and
discounted prices are great ways
to save your business money and
impact your bottom line. More
info is available at:
http://pekinchamber.blogspot.com
BBB Torch Awards for Market
Place Ethics will be given on
Thursday May 26, 2011.
Derby Days will be held May 19May 22. There will only be a
carnival this year.
Pekin Community High School
th
will be hosting its 9 annual
Dragon Pride on Thursday, May
th
5 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the
Hawkins Gym. There will be
student and class displays and
demonstrations, and student
recognition. The public is invited.
Spruce Up Pekin will be held on
th
May 7 from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
During these times people can
drop off their trash at four
locations: the Mineral Springs
Park parking lot, Fire Station No.
2 at 14 and Willow streets, 1130
Koch St., and the intersection of
Knapp and Sapp streets.
Volunteers are needed. For more
info visit the Chamber blog:
http://pekinchamber.blogspot.com
Come to the Courthouse Lawn
to Create, Cultivate, Educate!
Join Pekin Main Street for lunch
on the lawn and enjoy the talents
of local primary and secondary
schools. There will be
performances on every Thursday
th
and Friday from through May 20 .
Please visit the chamber blog at
http://pekinchamber.blogspot.com
for more info and a schedule.
Professional Therapy Services,
Inc. is moving their Pekin therapy
clinic to a new location at 2988
Court Street in the Sunset Plaza.
Their team of skilled and
knowledgeable therapists is
available to treat an array of
physical, occupational and
speech therapy disorders and
conditions. For information
regarding the programs and
services available, call 309/3535940 or visit them on-line at
www.ptsinc.org.
The Commerce Short-Term
Government Fund (CFSTX) was
awarded the 2011 Lipper Fund
Award‟s “Best Fund over Three
Years” in the Short U.S.
Government Funds category.
AMBUCS Auction will take place
th
May 6 at 5:00pm at the Pekin
Memorial Arena. Call any
AMBUCS member or Terry
Finnegan at 347-1131 to make a
donation.
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Town and Country Baptist
Church will be having a bluegrass
gospel sing on Saturday, May 14
at 6:00 pm. Come and enjoy an
evening of acoustic music with
friends and family. The church is
located just east of Pekin at
18443 IL STATE RT 9 Pekin IL
61554. An offering will be
accepted to help off set of the
cost for the event. For more
information call 309-613-3215.
Guns ‘N’ Hoses charity
basketball game will be held on
Saturday, May 14, at 8:30am at
Pekin Community High School.
Eight local Police Dept. and Fire
Dept. teams will be competing
against each other in a double
elimination charity basketball
tournament to support the Special
Olympics of Illinois. Cost of
admissions for adults is $5,
students $3, and children 5 and
under are free. All proceeds will
benefit Special Olympics.
IDOT announces that installation
of flashing yellow arrow signals in
the Peoria area has resumed and
will continue through the end of
the summer. These signals will be
installed in many of the
surrounding areas.
Pekin Area
Chamber of
Commerce
Membership Renewals through April 25th
Thank you to the following members who have recently renewed their investment
in the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce:
402 Court St
Pekin IL 61554
Phone: (309) 346-2106
Fax: (309) 346-2104
Chamber@Pekin.net
American Motor Trends ~ MAP/ACT (Artistic Community Theatre)
Associated Bank ~ Bond Eye Associates ~ Boys & Girls Club of Pekin
Elliff, Keyser, Oberle & Dancey, PC ~ Holiday Inn Express
Homerun Advertising Specialties ~ Illinois Central College
Illinois Department of Employment Security ~ J H Car Wash
Jimmy Johns ~ Dr. Brendon J. Johnson, OD
Kelley Construction Contractors ~ Kyle‟s Care at Home
Lange Animal Clinic ~ Pekin-Peoria Yellow Checker Cab
Pekin National Bank ~ PNC Bank ~ Riviera Tan ~ Carol Shields
State Rep. Mike Unes ~ Tazewell County Children‟s Advocacy Center
Tractor Supply Company
Board of Directors
Ambassadors
President
Skip Schermerhorn, Herget Bank
President Elect
Drew Leman, Leman Property Management
Vice President
Tom Hornstein, Excalibur Seasoning Company
Treasurer
Aindrea Balagna, Wolf Tesar & Company
Past President
Althea Geiser, B'Ribboned, Etc.

Board of Directors
 Kevin Andrews, Pekin Hospital
 Courtney Antonini, Tazewell County
 Denise Comerford, Sound Choice Hearing
Clinic
 Daryl Dagit, Savant Capital Management
 Paula Davis, Pekin Community High School
District #303
 Debbie Davison, Home Health Care Plus
 John Dennison, Ray Dennison Chevrolet
 John Franks III, Pekin-Peoria Yellow Checker
Cab
 Renna Hadsall, Busey Bank
 Greg Henderson, Henderson Funeral Home
 Neal Johnson, Ameren Illinois Utilities
 Scott Kriegsman, Elliff, Keyser, Oberle &
Dancey
 Brent Morgan, Timbercreek Rehab & Health
Care
 Diane Steiner, Pekin Insurance
 Laurie Barra, Mayor, City of Pekin
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John Abel, Preston Hanley Funeral
Homes and Crematory
Amber Burnshausen, McDaniels
Marketing Communications
Daryl Dagit, Savant Capital
Management
Amy Darling, Pekin Insurance
Brittany Dorf, Pekin Community Bank
Arlene Heine-Meyer, World Wide
Travel
Karen Lewis, CenturyLink
Laura Lohnes, Pekin Community Bank
Cathy Lusch, Herget Bank
Rose Melz, Illinois Collections
Unlimited
Stacey Mutchler, Harbor Light
Hospice
Christie Perry, Pekin Hospital
Amanda Rogy, Amanda’s Closet
Les Rosiere, Jim Maloof Realtor
Paul Scherer, Heartland Bank
Bill Shock, Unland Companies
Diane Steiner, Pekin Insurance
Kim Tarpley, Morton Villa / Terrace
Teresa Ann Tucker, Avon
Independent Representative
Victoria Udry, Udry Jewelers
David Vaupel, Preston Hanley Funeral
Homes and Crematory
Milissa Welborn, Busey Bank