Chamber Report. Inside: Member Feature: Yes for Independent Maps Campaign CIRCLE June Vol. 22 Issue 6.

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1 June 2014 Vol. 22 Issue 6 Chamber Report A publication of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Inside: Yes for Independent Maps Campaign CIRCLE 2014 Member Feature:

2 Welcome! New Chamber Members Lucky s Modern Dive (A) 4538 N. Prospect, Peoria Heights, IL P: Rosewood Care Center of Peoria (D) 1500 W. Northmoor Rd, Peoria, IL P: Rosewood Care Center is a premier skilled nursing facility located in Peoria. Our rehabilitation program at Rosewood is designed for individuals whose health has been impacted by illness, injury, or a recent operation. The Rosewood program incorporates rehabilitation goals into every aspect of resident care. This program helps individuals reach and maintain their highest potential, facilitating their return home or to a more independent lifestyle. The training and encouragement through physical, occupational, and speech therapies bring positive and rewarding results. Our goal is to get you back on your feet and back home. This unified effort helps fulfill our philosophy: Get More than Good Nursing Care, Get Better! PPG Paints/Glidden Professional (A) 2010 N. Knoxville Ave, Peoria IL P: Global paint and coatings manufacturer and supplier; paint sundries supplier. Eagle Rock Insurance Services (A) 7800 N Sommer Street Ste. 204, Peoria, IL P: Full service independent insurance agency. Business, life, auto, home, and long term care insurance. Ghantous & Almasi Attorneys at Law (A) 3100 N Dries Ln. Ste. 201, Peoria, IL P: Contact Ghantous and Almasi, Attorneys at Law in Peoria, IL for your legal matters. Our experienced trial lawyers concentrate on serious personal injury and accident law, divorce and family law and DUI defense. We provide free initial consultations. When it really matters, Get Ghantous. Nash-Hasty Investment Services, Inc. (A) 1605 West Candletree Dr. Ste. 108, Peoria, IL P: Investment Planning firm located in Peoria, IL. Specializing in Retirement Planning and Wealth Management services for individuals and families. Hickory Point Bank & Trust, fsb (A) 7501 N University Ave. Ste 107, Peoria, IL P: Best Western Plus East Peoria (A) 300 Eastlight Ct., East Peoria, IL P: Newly renovated hotel, Perfect for the every day traveler and the serious businessman. Indoor Pool, 24hr Fitness Center, Complimentary Breakfast served every morning! The following are corrected entries from last month s publication. We apologize for the errors. Coffee News of Peoria (A) 725 W. Bennett Ct., Dunlap, IL P: Coffee News is the world s largest weekly restaurant publication and offers exclusive, effective, and affordable advertising for small businesses. Coffee News is a free weekly publication that has the week s funniest and most unusual news stories, profound quotes, local events, trivia, horoscopes, amazing facts, jokes, and more. Everything in it is fun and entertaining - no bad news here. Designed as an alternative to traditional print advertising, the Coffee News also features ads from local businesses. Ads that are exclusive, effective, affordable, and just about everywhere. Coffee News of Peoria has four editions serving the Peoria area. Daily Laboratories and Mobilab, Inc. (A) 2200 W Altorfer Dr. Ste. B, Peoria, IL P: We are an ISO:17025 certified private laboratory for the testing of food, dairy, meat, water and environmental samples, as well as sterility testing of containers and closures. Industries served include food, meat and produce processing plants, realtors and individual farmers. We meet the requirements of FDA, USDA, IDPH, EPA. WBENC-certified woman-owned. Page 2 Employee Size Code - (number of full-time equivalent employees in the tri-county area): (A) 1-10 (B) (C) (D) (E) (F) 300+

3 Member Feature Hosted business phone services from VoiceSpring Since VoiceSpring started back in 2006, it has seen eight years of steady growth with hundreds of customers and thousands of phone lines. VoiceSpring was the first telecommunications company to bring hosted phone service to central IL. What is a hosted business phone service? A PBX (private branch exchange) is a dedicated phone system that helps answer and route calls that come into your company. A hosted business phone service, otherwise known as Hosted PBX, provides the functionality found in traditional corporate phone systems, without the need to purchase the actual phone system servers. This means that the only phone equipment a company would need to have is a phone. The phone system is hosted by a service provider such as VoiceSpring. The service provider can answer the calls any way that a company would require, and can route calls anywhere in the world! This provides a flexibility and cost savings that can save money, and save sales! As you read on through this document, we will explain how this is done. How does a hosted system save businesses money on equipment and facilities? Firstly, there is no equipment to purchase, other than telephones (which a company may already have, or the vendor will provide them!). This can mean thousands of dollars saved upon initial purchase! In addition; moving, upgrades and maintenance are all free with the hosted providers! With a traditional phone system you can pay as much for monthly maintenance, as you do for the total service fees for a hosted provider! Another major savings is facilities, and I/T expenses. With a phone system that is hosted on a company s premise, I/T staff and an appropriate facility for operations of the equipment are required. This includes power, air-conditioning and security, which are all completely, bulletproof! With the hosted option, there is no need for I/T staff or special facilities. Fire your phone company: Some hosted providers can supply you with telephones that can plug directly into your broadband internet connection! This is also known as VoIP phones, or simply internet phones. This means, that you can get inbound, and outbound calls to your phones without the need to use your telephone company or cable provider s services. By eliminating these service providers, your hosted phone system services can save you more money than you are currently paying with your telephone service! Dear Readers, My name is Rachel O Connell, and I am the Director of Communication for the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce and CEO Council. One of my responsibilities is making sure that our members are aware of all the marketing opportunities available to them through their Chamber membership. Through our website, members are able to post press releases, job openings, events, and even special discounts and promotions. Members are also encouraged to submit business briefs, which is any businessrelated information such as new employee announcements, recent news, and awards. Business briefs are printed in this publication each month and posted on our website. All of these opportunities are free to our members. We also offer many advertising opportunities to our members, enabling them to showcase their products and services to the business community. Whether you are interested in featuring your business on the cover of the Chamber Report or in sending a targeted e-blast to other Chamber members, we are here to help! I encourage you to make sure you are taking advantage of these great services. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Rachel O Connell Director of Communication roconnell@peoriachamber.org

4 Business Briefs business moves Absolute Fitness is pleased to announce the addition of Kelly Lesnieski to their personal training team. ALIPRO would like to welcome Jason Long, Renee Holmes, Scott Weathers, and Dhana Horba to their project management team. The Antioch Group is pleased to announce that Kevin Siscoe, MA, D. Min., LCPC has joined the clinical staff. Basic Information Technology Solutions, Inc. is proud to announce the addition of Jacob Borton to their technical staff. The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute is pleased to announce the new additions to their growing practice; Jennifer Fulton, Certified Pharmacy Technician; Denise Piper, Executive Assistant/ Marketing & Events Coordinator; and Sarah Berberich, Lab Coordinator. Caterpillar Inc. is pleased to announce the hiring of Henry Vicary as the company s Community Relations Manager based in Peoria. Eureka College is excited to announce that Daniel J. Blankenship has been named provost and dean. Goodwill has named Mollie Franke as their new Housing Manager of the General Wayne A. Downing Home for Veterans. Howard & Howard is pleased to announce that Leonard W. Sachs has been named Office Managing Attorney of the Peoria office. Kavanagh, Scully, Sudow, White, & Frederick, P.C. proudly announces that it has elected attorney Robert C. Gates as a shareholder and partner to the firm. The Metropolitan Airport Authority of Peoria is excited to announce the addition of Carol Merna as Manager of Marketing and Public Relations. Midstate College would like to welcome their new adjunct faculty members; Marcus Washington in Information Systems Technology; Lauren Padgett in General Education; Courtney Gehrig in Allied Health; Gina Martin in Business Administration; Jayleen Wangle in General Education; Robert Schmitt in Accounting; and Zachary Bunch is returning to work in the Bookstore. Midstate College is also pleased to announce the promotion of Amber Schappaugh to Interim Director for the Allied Health Program. TruGreen is proud to announce the promotion of Seth Whiting to Field Sales Supervisor. South Side Bank is pleased to announce the re-election of the Board of Directors; David Cochran, Chairman; David Bettinghaus, Kevin Colgan, Steven Fawley, David Golwitzer, Karen Jensen, Mark Joseph, Mark Matuszak, William Schwab, Michael Stone, Jeffrey Ward, Timothy Ward, and John Waugh. news Absolute Fitness has launched two new fitness programs: Training for Warriors and Absolute Bodyweight Training. Better Banks and First National Bank of Chillicothe are pleased to announce that they have entered an agreement in which First National Bank will be merging into Better Banks. Basic Information Technology Solutions, Inc. is proud to announce a 3,000 square feet expansion to their current facility. The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute annual Tropical Trivia Fundraiser will raise funds for Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute s scholarship programs as well as for critical research in Dr. Tarantino s field of expertise. Peoria Voices for Immigration Reform While members of Congress were home for the April recess, top Illinois faith, business and law enforcement leaders met to discuss immigration reform. The meeting identified the economic, moral and security imperatives for passing commonsense immigration reform this Congress. The meeting was sponsored by the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Bibles, Badges and Business for Immigration Reform network (BBB), Bradley University, Caterpillar, Inc., FWD.us, Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, and Illinois Farm Bureau. Panelists included: Pastor Adrian Garcia, First United Methodist Church; Fr. Tony Lee, Holy Trinity and Historic St. Patrick Parishes; Brad McMillan, Bradley University; Doug Baird, The Highlands and Baird Seed Company; and Mark Peters, Caterpillar. Each panelist shared their perspective on the issue, citing the economic and moral impacts. The panel encouraged everyone to contact their politician and speak with them about the need for immigration reform. To learn more immigration reform, please visit The Chamber Report (USPS ) is the official publication of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. It is published monthly at 100 SW Water Street, Peoria, IL 61602, phone: An annual subscription is $10. Periodical postage paid in Peoria, Illinois and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER - Send address changes to: The Chamber Report, Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, 100 SW Water Street, Peoria, Illinois

5 The Business Briefs are an excellent marketing opportunity offered to Chamber members. Submit items of interest to the editor to Information must be received by the 10th of the month to be included in next month s issue. All content subject to editorial review. Commerce Bancshares, Inc. is excited to announce first quarter earnings of $.67 per share, which is a 6.3% increase from last years first quarter earnings. Four Points by Sheraton is undergoing a complete multi-million dollar renovation and will be opening in the fall of Hickory Point Bank & Trust and Marshall County State Bank announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Hickory Point Bank & Trust will acquire the branch offices, loans, and deposits of Marshall County State Bank. Howard & Howard has many attorneys appointed and reappointed to several committees within the Illinois State Bar Association: Thomas E. Howard, Timothy J. Howard, Frank W. Ierulli, Michael R. Lied, Grace Mata, and Daniel S. Rubin. Illinois CancerCare s Dr. Francois Geoffroy, joined radio host, Kim Brooks, for the Healthy You radio program to discuss the topics of brain tumors and brain cancer. Market Vision Floor Plans & Photography, Ltd. is excited to announce they are now doing business as Look2 Home Marketing Peoria. The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, among several other central Illinois Chambers of Commerce, attended the 2014 CIRCLE Lobby Day. Peoria Park District golf cours- es are open for the 2014 season. During the Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing Spring baccalaureate Mass and graduation ceremony, 114 students earned their Bachelor s of Science in Nursing, 39 students earned their Master s of Science in Nursing, three students were awarded a Post Graduate Certificate, and five students were awarded The Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. SC2, Supply Chain Services & Solutions opened a new location in Waco, Texas. Wheels O Time Museum opened May 1st for their 31st season and will be participating in the Blue Star Program for the fifth year. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, any active military personnel and up to five members of their family are Wheels O Time Museum s guests. awards & recognition The Bleeding & Clotting Disorders Institute is proud to announce world renowned Hematologist and Medical Director, Dr. Michael Tarantino, was given the AΩA Faculty Teaching Award by the University of Illinois College Of Medicine. OSF St. Francis Medical Center was awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for their medical The Peoria Area Chamber is pleased to announce Brian Card of Princeville State Bank as Ambassador of the Year. training, research and development center for its green construction and design. Hawk Agency congratulates Lori Jones, Employee of the Year; Tim Kirkham, Agent of the Year; Cathy Bayless, Employee of the Quarter; Judy Pickens, Agent of the Quarter; and Rogers Benefit Group, the Carrier Partner of the Quarter. Peoria Park District s Detweiller Golf Course received accreditation from the American FootGolf League as a home for FootGolf in the Peoria area. PIP Printing & Marketing Services Account Manager, Kelly Smet, was awarded the Don F. Lowe Salesperson of the Year Award for 2014 at Franchise Services Inc s national Sales Forum in Tampa. Chris Cochran and Kelly Smet were both recognized as Platinum Level performers at Franchise Services Inc s na- tional Sales Forum in Tampa, as well. SC2, Supply Chain Services & Solutions was recognized by the ESOP Association for 25+ years as an Employee Owned company and supporting the concept of Employee Ownership through ESOPs. WMBD 31 has won an Edward R. Murrow Award in the Breaking News category for the station s coverage of the November 17th tornado.

6 Chamber News The Central Illinois Regional Chamber Legislative (CIRCLE) Effort The Central Illinois Regional Chamber Legislative Effort (CIRCLE) was active in April, hosting two annual events, the CIRCLE Legislative Reception and Lobby Day. On April 28th, the local business community had the opportunity to discuss and interact with area legislators. This open forum allowed the legislators to be able to connect with constituents on a personal level. On April 30th, Chamber staff and Chamber members headed to Springfield to partake in discussions with legislators and policy makers on key issues regarding: minimum wage, sunset of the income tax increase, and workers compensation. These were issues the members voiced as ones to be addressed Legislative session on worker s compensation with Representative Keith Sommer; Representative David Leitch; Representative Michael Unes; Jason Shallenberger, Morton Buildings; Marc Collins, CORE Construction; Senator Darin LaHood; Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer. by our legislators. The first segment was held in the Capitol building with CIRCLE and the second half of the session was held with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. The CIRCLE Legislative Reception was sponsored by Komatsu and Hanson Professional Services and CIRCLE Lobby Day was sponsored by Tate & Lyle and State Farm. CIRCLE is comprised of the Chambers in East Peoria, Peoria, McLean County, Canton, Chillicothe, Galesburg, Jacksonville, Lincoln/Logan, Morton, Pekin, Peoria Heights, Quincy, Springfield, Washington, Decatur, and Champaign. CIRCLE is working together to advocate for a common agenda with the Illinois General Assembly. Peoria Area Chamber Endorses the Yes for Independent Maps Campaign On May 1, the Yes for Independent Maps Campaign held a press conference in Peoria. The campaign is a process, aimed to create new legislative districts that provide clear nonpartisan representation. The Central Illinois effort was successful, and the campaigns in Peoria and Champaign were both recognized for the amount of signatures collected. A semi-truck delivered all of the petitions, weighing more than 1000 lbs, to the State Board of Elections in Springfield. The campaign seeks to give Illinoisans the opportunity to vote for this initiative on November 4th. The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors approved the endorsement of the Yes for Independent Maps referendum initiative last fall. SPRING CLEAN THE AIR YOU BREATH! Call SC2, Your Certified Air Filtration Specialist OUR PRODUCTS Odor Filtration Fiberglass Pleats Service Rolls Bags Rigid Cells Cut-to-Order ULPA/HEPA Cartridge Filters Fluid & Oil Filtration Liquid & Powder Paint Filtration Duct Cleaning Men on Men on this ad to receive 10% off your lter order! A S Y O U R L O C A L F U L L - S E R V I C E F I L T R A T I O N D I S T R I B U T O R W E O F F E R : Price Competitive Filtration Products Energy Savings Calculations Customize Filter Change-out Schedules Residential, Commercial & Industrial Duct Cleaning Brent Kirkton at SC2services.com 801 SW JEFFERSON, AVE PEORIA IL ONE SOURCE. ONE SOLUTION.

7 Save the date! Business After Hours Business Before Hours June 12 4:30-6:30 PM OSF Aviation 1400 S. Johansen Road Peoria, IL June 24 7:45-9:00 AM Anytime Fitness 1320 W. Commerce Drive Peoria, IL More On Our Events Calendar! Our community calendar on our website is your go-to spot for current events and happenings in the Peoria area. Our entire membership (over 1,000 businesses) has access to event postings, so there s no better place to keep up with what s playing in Peoria! OPENING SOON! The Four Points by Sheraton Downtown The Four Points by Sheraton will open in September 2014 as a brand new property. The hotel is currently undergoing a complete, multi-million dollar renovation, which will bring the hotel up to modern accommodation standards expected by the community and visitors to the area. The property offers 319 guestrooms and suites, 25,000 square feet of meeting space, a state of the art fitness center, full service restaurant and complimentary internet throughout the hotel and conference center. For more information, call us at

8 100 SW Water St. Peoria, Illinois Contact us! Please notify the Chamber at or of name and address changes or additions. Find Your Direction Strategic marketing focused on online and traditional solutions adcoagency.com Pioneer Parkway