Chamber Honors Twenty-Eight

The Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce hosted their 12th annual Business and Community Recognition Luncheon on Thursday, October 8th at the Pekin Country Club. The Chamber’s Member Services Committee coordinated the luncheon, which was sponsored by CenturyTel, Pekin Trophy House & Engraved Gifts, The Greenhouse Flower Shoppe, Paradise Donuts, and The Ashland House.

Recognition was given to twenty-eight area businesses and organizations in the following categories: remodeling or expansion; new ownership or management; new business or building; additional employees; major training effort; new technology; major equipment investment; other improvements; and, community involvement.

Before presenting the awards, Chamber executive director Bill Fleming told the audience of 155 people representing forty-six local organizations that not all of the current economic news is negative.

“These twenty-eight businesses and organizations have demonstrated by their continued investment that they did not participate in an economic downturn,” said Fleming.

The featured speaker at the luncheon was Joanne K. Glasser, President of Bradley University. She spoke of the systemic change that can happen with the leadership and efforts of just one individual. As examples of this, she spoke about Lydia Moss Bradley, Betty Friedan, and Nancy Goodman Brinker.

The twenty-eight businesses and organizations recognized were:

• Adams Outdoor Advertising (expansion, new management, major equipment investment)
• Amanda’s Closet (new business, expansion, additional employees, community involvement)
• Busey Bank (community involvement)
• Chateau on the Lake (new ownership)
• Covenant Heating & Air (additional employees, other improvements)
• Dirksen Congressional Center (expansion, other improvements)
• Edward Jones (new management)
• Herget Bank (new technology investment, major retraining effort)
• Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites (remodeling, new ownership and management, major retraining effort, new technology, equipment investment, community involvement)
• Home Health Plus Services Motors (remodeling, expansion)
• Illinois Centers for Pain & Rehab (remodeling, additional employees, major retraining effort)
• Leman Property Management (remodeling)
• Liberty Village / Pekin Manor (expansion, community involvement)
• Jim Maloof Realtors (community involvement)
• Pekin Hospital (remodeling, additional employees, new technology investment, major equipment investment, other improvements, community involvement)
• Pekin Insurance (expansion, additional employees, other improvements)
• Pekin Main Street (community involvement)
• Pekin Public Schools District 108 (remodeling)
• Peston-Hanley Funeral Homes (additional employee, new technology, community involvement)
• Rick Tyler Agency – American Family Insurance (additional employees, community involvement)
• SBSi Semonis (new ownership, new building)
• Sound Choice Hearing Clinic (new building, additional employees, major equipment investment)
• Tazewell County House of Hope (community involvement)
• Tazwood Mental Health Center (expansion)
• Timbercreek Rehab & Health Care (community involvement)
• Total Dental Care (remodeling, additional employee)
• University of Illinois – Tazewell County Extension (remodeling, expansion)
• Boys Scouts of America (100-year organization)

To see more pictures from this event, visit the chamber's photo site at: http://picasaweb.google.com/PekinChamber