Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce

The August 11, 2009 general meeting of the Tazewell County Genealogical and Historical Society will present Tim Sawers of Springfield, IL. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Mr. Littleton W Tazewell, for whom Tazewell County is named, a US Senator from the state of Virginia. Mr. Sawers has done extensive research on the Virginia senator. The meeting, which is open to the general public, will be held on Tuesday August 11, 2009 at the Society's Erlicher Library, located at 719 N Eleventh St, Pekin, IL. The program will begin promptly at 7:00 PM, with a business meeting immediately following. The building is handicapped accessible with ample parking available.

Champion Fitness Physical Therapy is hosting an Open House on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at our Morton location. All are invited to enjoy a complimentary lunch and register for great door prizes! Come tour our facility and meet our therapy staff. Join us there between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at 947 Jackson Plaza. For more information, contact Jodi at (309)-266-1672. Visit our website at http://www.champfit.com/ to see how Champion Fitness Physical Therapy can help you “GET BUSY LIVING!”

Please welcome another new business to the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce: SJB Promotions 38615 SR 10 Mason City, IL 62664 (217) 482-9100; fax 482-9102 Jill Douglas, Independent Contractor jill@sjbpromotions.com www.sjbpromotions.com SJB Promotions can help you find products to improve traffic at trade shows, motivate your staff, thank a customer, or increase safety awareness. From fun items to the traditional, they can help you easily find some of the hottest items on the market.

Please welcome one of our newest members: Good Shepherd Lutheran School 333 State Street and soon at 3201 Court Street Pekin, IL 61554 (309) 347-2020; fax 347-9099 gsls@grics.net www.goodshepherdpekin.net Ralph Mickley, Principal. Good Shepherd Lutheran School provides Christ-centered education with high academic standards for children in the community from preschool through the eighth grade. Good Shepherd is part of the mission and ministry of three Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod congregations in the Pekin area: St. John's, Pekin; Trinity, Pekin; and St. John's, Green Valley.

Business AFTER Hours Hosted by NTS Telephone Services Corp. 205 Enterprise Drive Thursday, August 6, 2009 4:30—6:00 pm Take advantage of this great networking opportunity. You might start a new business relationship or meet your best customer. Enjoy the door prizes, refreshments, and visit with your friends, neighbors, and business associates. Admission is free to Chamber members ($10 for future members). Please RSVP to the Chamber at 346-2106 or e-mail us at chamber@pekin.net .

Puttin’ On Pekin Breakfast Friday, August 14th ~~ 6:45 am Knights of Columbus Hall ~~ 715 N. 11th Street Featured Program: PAWS “Giving Independence” The cost of the breakfast is $10.00 per person for reservations made before 4:30 pm on Wednesday, August 12th. After that, the cost is $15.00 per person. Payment can be made at the door. Make checks payable in the exact amount to the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce. Reservations are required and can be made by email at chamber@pekin.net , or by calling the Chamber at 346-2106.

An interactive calendar can also be viewed by visiting our website at www.pekin.net . 4th Ambassadors Committee, CJ’s Café, 7:30am /8:00am 5th Executive Committee, Chamber Office, 4:00 pm 6th Pekin 1st Committee, Holiday Inn Express, 7:30 am 6th Business AFTER Hours, NTS Telephone Services, 4:30~6:00 pm Reservations Appreciated 8th Miss Marigold Pageant , F.M. Petersen Theatre at PCHS, 7:00 pm 11th Member Services Comm., Chamber Office, 7:30 am 12th Transportation Committee, Pekin City Hall, 8:00 am 12th Board of Directors, Herget Bank, 4:00 pm 14th Puttin’ On Pekin, Knights of Columbus Hall, 6:45 am Reservations Appreciated 14th American Wind Symphony Orchestra, Pekin Riverfront, 7:30 pm 19th Marigold Committee, Holiday Inn Express, 6:30 pm 25th Business Advocacy Comm., Chamber Office, 7:00 am 31st PEPSI Marigold Medallion Hunt , 1st Clue Released

1st Ambassadors Committee, CJ’s Café, 7:30am /8:00am 2nd Member Promotions Committee, Chamber Office, 7:30 am 2nd Executive Committee, Chamber Office, 4:00 pm 3rd Pekin 1st Committee, Holiday Inn Express, 7:30 am 3rd Business AFTER Hours, The Grand Victorian of Pekin, 4:30~6:00 pm Reservations Appreciated 7th Labor Day Holiday ~ Chamber Office Closed 8th Member Services Comm., Chamber Office, 7:30 am 9th Transportation Committee, Pekin City Hall, 8:00 am 9th Board of Directors, Herget Bank, 4:00 pm 9th Marigold Committee, Mineral Springs Park, 6:30 pm 10th Marigold Festival Carnival Bracelet Night, 5:30~9:30 pm 11th Pekin Main Street Friday Night Family Fest, Downtown Pekin, 5:00~10:00 pm 11th ~ 13th Pekin Chamber of Commerce Marigold Festival 23rd Marigold Committee, Holiday Inn Express, 6:30 pm 29th Business Advocacy Comm., Chamber Office, 7:00 am

Thank you to the following businesses and organizations that recently renewed their membership with the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce: A To Z Rental ~ Ace Liquor ~ AECOM ~ C R Alexander ~ George Carver ~ CD 107 ~ Center for Prevention of Abuse ~ Community Foundation of Central Illinois ~ Dirksen Congressional Center ~ E & S Communications ~ Enviro-Safe Refrigerants ~ Fort Toyota ~ Douglas C. Harrington, MD SC ~ Rose Hasler ~ Maurer-Stutz ~ Moods By Michael ~ Viola Musgrave ~ PDC Services ~ Phillips Tax Service ~ Saturn of Peoria ~ Sign Shop ~ Simmons Sanitations Service ~ State Representative Mike Smith ~ Tazewell County Farm Bureau ~ United Workforce Development Board ~ Velde Ford Sales ~ Watkins Marine ~ WMBD / WYZZ.

Chamber Membership A Better Value Your membership in the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce is always a great value. But in these challenging economic times, your membership is an even better value. Below are examples of free or low-cost promotional opportunities available to you as a benefit of your chamber membership. Take advantage of them! 1. Online membership directory – All chamber members are included in our online membership directory. But did you know you could enhance your listing? Go to our website at www.pekin.net and click on the “Membership Directory” in the red menu bar on the left. Now, find your business or organization. You can search or browse alphabetically or by category. When you find the list with your organization’s name in it, click your name. How does your information look? Pretty basic? Now, go find the listing for the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce, or just click here . See the difference? You can enhance your information by adding your hours,...

The Consumer Price Index for the CPI-U (all urban consumers increased 0.2% for the month of April. The CPI-W (all urban wage earners and clerical workers) along with the C-CPI-U (chained all urban consumers) increased 0.3% for the same time period. Changes for the year include the CPI-U -.07%, -1.3% for the CPI-W, and –1.1% for the C-CPI-U. The United States City Average for all consumers—all items—January 2009, 211.1; February, 212.2; and March, 212.8.

Dr. Denise M. J. Comerford has been appointed to fill an unexpired term on the Board of Directors of the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Comerford is the owner and audiologist at Sound Choice Hearing Clinic in Pekin. She is an active member of the American Academy of Audiology, the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association, the Illinois Academy of Audiology, the Princeville Garden Club, the Brimfield Grade School PTO, and the secretary of the Parkview Women’s Golf League. She enjoys golf, sprint triathlon training and competition, camping and hiking. She and her husband, Rex, and daughter, Carleigh, reside in Princeville.

Nurses at Methodist Medical Center have completed advanced training and educational requirements to earn specialized nursing credentials. Jamie Osmulski of Peoria and Kathy Lusher of Delevan both completed their Professional Healthcare Quality certification through the Healthcare Quality Certification board. That certification is valid for two years. Both work in the Methodist Quality and Safety Department. Jacqui Carey of West Peoria received her certification for Rehabilitation. Samantha Nelson of Mackinaw received her certification for Orthopedics. The following labor and delivery nurses have all received their certification in OB, valid for three years. They include Monica Lin of Peoria, Deb Kasper of Germantown Hills, Angela Symonds of Brimfield, Jennifer Storm of Lacon, Sara Watts of Pekin, Janel Davis of East Peoria, Melanie Benedict of Washington, Karla Begner of Elmwood, Christina Spurgeon of Princeville, Tamara McCombs of Cuba, and Wendy Maslana of Topeka. Post Partum nurses ...

About 40 chamber members attended Breakfast 2.0 and learned how to use Facebook to promote their business or organization. Thanks to our presenters: Alissa Williams from the Pekin Public Library, Katy Fedderson from the Peoria Chiefs, Brian Carroll from the Peoria Area Association of Realtors, and Bill Fleming from the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce. You can see more pictures from this and other chamber events at: http://picasaweb.google.com/PekinChamber

Following are proposed rules of possible interest to small businesses. During the 45-day comment period, individuals have an opportunity to express their support or opposition to the rule. Check out our new online resource which enables businesses to submit comments on pending proposed rulemakings. Go to www.ienconnect.com/regalert and click on "Submit Comments" to comment how the proposed rulemakings impact your business or industry. The Illinois Department of Revenue proposed an amendment which will impact service providers who file at least 250 federal withholding returns annually. To learn more, click here . The Department of Natural Resources proposed amendments which will impact businesses that sell Department of Natural Resource's licenses, stamps and permits. To learn more, click here . The Department of Public Health proposed amendments to "Home Health, Home Services, and Home Nursing Agency Code" which will impact home health, home services, and h...

The SBA has begun offering loans for a temporary new program called America's Recovery Capital. "ARC" loans of up to $35,000 are designed to provide a "bridge" for viable small businesses with immediate financial hardship--to keep their doors open until they get back on track. ARC loans are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000, available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing and qualifying business debt. ARC loans are 100% guaranteed by the SBA and have no SBA fees associated with them. ARC loans will be disbursed over a period of up to six months and will provide funds to be used for payments of principal and interest for existing, qualifying small business debt including mortgages, term and revolving lines of credit, capital leases, credit card obligations and notes payable to vendors, suppliers and utilities. For more information on ARC loans, visit www.sba...

The following are times and locations for community health screenings offered by Methodist Medical Center for the month of August 2009. Free cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose and lung functions are offered at all screening sites. August 3-Clubs at River City-Peoria- 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. August 8-Creve Coeur Community Center-7 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. August 10-Eastside Center-East Peoria-7 a.m. to 10 a.m. August 11-World Gym on Universigty-Peoria-8 a.m. to 11 a.m. August 14-Naturally Yours-Peoria-10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. August 17-Maple Lawn-Eureka-8 a.m. to 10 a.m. August 18-Methodist Medical Group at Princeville-8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. August 20-Methodist Medical Group at East Peoria-8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Prostate screening (PSA) is also available at a reduced cost of $25. August 25-Health Fair-Riverplex-9 a.m. to noon August 26-Fitness America-East Peoria-9 a.m. to 11 a.m. August 27-Apples Bakery-Peoria-8 a.m. to 10 a.m. August 28- Schnucks Supermarket-Peoria-8 a.m. to 11...

The following is the schedule for the Methodist Medical Center Mobile Mammography Van for the month of August 2009. Unless otherwise listed, the van will be in these locations from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Methodist now features all digital mammography equipment providing improved, faster and more comfortable exams. August 4-Methodist at Morton-1909 N. Morton Ave-Morton August 10-Dr. E Rufus-12123 W. Farmington Rd-Hanna City August 11-Methodist MedPointe at Peoria-8914 N. Knoxville-Peoria August 12-Methodist Medical Group at Chillicothe-525 Sweetbriar-Chillicothe August 13-Illini Family Medicine-201 Cummings-Washington August 17-Methodist Medical Group at Metamora-901 Walnut-Metamora August 18-Methodist at Morton-1909 N. Morton-Morton August 19-Methodist at Pekin-1800 Broadway-Pekin August 21-Methodist East Campus-415 St. Marks Court-Peoria August 25-Heartland Clinic-1701 W. Garden-Peoria August 26-Methodist at Lacon-1112 E. Fifth St.-Lacon August 27-Wal-Mart-2071 N. Main-Canton There i...

Please welcome another new member to the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce: Paradise Donuts 815 N. 8th Street, Pekin, IL 61554 (309) 353-6887 Crista Flynn, Owner Paradise Donuts offers a vast variety of donuts, fritters and bearclaws. Very special made-from-scratch sausage rolls are also available. Coming soon, are Thumbprint Cookies and Jumer’s Cinnamon Rolls. Come and visit Paradise! Hours are Tuesday through Friday, 5:30 am to 10:00 am and on Saturday, 6:30 am to 10:30 am. Closed on Sundays and Mondays.

The Peoria metropolitan area, including Peoria, Tazewell, and Woodford Counties, would like your help gathering information to better market our region. Log on to www.peoriametrosurvey.com and take a few moments to complete the brief survey. Tell us what you think about living in the Peoria metro area. You can also register to win a prize package. This brief survey has only 10 questions and should take less than 5 minutes to complete. We look forward to hearing from you! Help us take the pulse of the Peoria Area and be sure to pass the survey on to your friends and contacts!