BUSINESS

YOUR CRYSTAL LAKE CHAMBER MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER 2020

Pathways
MORE INSIDE:
LOOKING BACK
ON 80 YEARS...
A WORD FROM YOUR
PRESIDENT/CEO
PAGE 4

THE CHAMBER
CELEBRATES ITS 80TH
ANNIVERSARY
PAGE 7

CHANGES IN BENEFITS &

DUES
PAGE 10

SEPTEMBER HONOR
ROLL
PAGE 13

...AND LOOKING
FORWARD TO WHAT
THE FUTURE HOLDS
 MEMBER
Diamond Members
Sponsors Emerald Members

Platinum Plus Members Platinum Members Premier Members

Advocate Good Shepherd Becky’s Bikes MPPL Financial
Black Diamond Plumbing & Wakeman Law Group, PC
Hospital
Mechanical
BMO Harris Bank Country Donuts
Bruning & Associates, P.C. CreativeCore Media
Douglas Automotive
Crystal Lake Bank & Trust
EISENMANN Corporation
Company, N.A. Freddy’s Carpet Cleaning Plus
Curran Contracting Company Georgio’s Chicago Pizzeria &
Dorion-Gray Retirement Pub
In Sync Systems
Planning, Inc. Liberty Outdoor Advertising &
Exemplar Financial Network Self Storage
Insight Financial Partners, LLC MarySaysItAll
Miller Verchota, Inc., CPAs Mixed Media Group, Inc.
Outback Steakhouse
Northwest Herald
Schafer Brothers Remodeling,
Inc.
The Framery
Vid-For-Web Productions Thank you!

2 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

 TABLE OF
Contents
4. A Word from Your...
President and CEO PAGE 7

5. COVID-19 Updates
Breaking Bread

8. Business Builders Recap PAGE 9

Re-Developing Workforce
PAGE 13
Development in McHenry County

10. Letter to Members

Changes in Benefits & Dues

11. Membership Investment Guide

Learn about the new changes taking place PAGE 15

427 West Virginia Street

Crystal Lake, IL 60014

P: 815.459.1300 | F: 815.459.0243
info@clchamber.com | www.clchamber.com

M - Th: 9am - 4:30pm, F: 9am - 1pm

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 3

 A WORD FROM YOUR
President and CEO
The Chamber staff and I have been working on how to maximize your benefits as
a Chamber member. You may have seen a calendar event for a webinar that Lisa
McLaughlin does most weeks on Thursday mornings. This Maximize Your Benefits
Webinar is designed to show current and new members how to navigate the Chamber
website and review the new content we have been adding.

In addition to this weekly review, we have also been researching and creating new ways our chamber
can offer new benefits to each of you. In the age of Covid-19, we have spent most of our time searching
outside of the box for benefits that would mean something to every member, whether you come to an
event or not.

In the coming weeks you will receive our new Membership Investment Guide. This brochure will show you
how we intend to bring Chamber Membership value to your front door. We hope that you take the time to
read through it and look at the new offerings we have available to you now. While this is just an overview,
we hope to send to you a more personalized review of how this will benefit you and your business when
we send out Chamber membership renewal notices.

We are excited to share this new chapter of our Chamber with you as we look for more opportunities to
build relationships, provide tangible and beneficial programs and services, and expand on the tradition
of excellence our Chamber is known for.

Bill Eich, President/CEO

Bill Eich
President/CEO
Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce

4 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

COVID-19 UPDATES FOR BUSINESSES
With Illinois entering Phase 4 of the Governor’s five-phase plan, the Chamber office is now
open! staff will still be back in the Chamber building at beginning June 1st and we will be open
by appointment only. Our meeting spaces will be available for businesses to use; we will be
issuing our own set of parameters regardingthe precautions we are taking. We recommend
all members reference the following sources for the latest developments related to COVID-19:

Phase 4 Guidelines from the Governor’s Office​

City of Crystal Lake
McHenry County Health Department
​SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus
​ tate Treasurer’s Illinois Small Business COVID-19 Relief Program
S
Stay-at-Home Executive Order
Illinois Chamber of Commerce
US Chamber of Commerce
Mixed Media Outdoor
​World Health Organization
United States Environmental Protection Agency Like us on
(EPA) Local News &
for
Illinois Face Covering Guidelines Monthly Prizes

Businesss Services www.MixedMediaOutdoor.com

Do you have a question whether a business is
considered essential? You can call the Essential
847-462-8433
Business Determination Hotline at 800.252.2923 or
email at CEO.support@illinois.gov.

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 5

 CHAMBER UPDATES
Due to the rapidly changing recommendations
from the CDC, Federal Government and
state and local authorities, the chamber is re-
evaluating our programming every few days.
As long as concerns continue related to the
spread of coronavirus in our area, the Crystal
Lake Chamber of Commerce will be taking the
following approach to our programming, events
and activities:
Press Release Notice
If you have news about your services,
your business hours or how members
can support you, please send them to
info@clchamber.org.
They will be posted on our News from
our Members page under the News
and Events tab. Click on the image
below to go to the ‘News From Our
Members’ page on our website.

COVID-19 Business Reopening

Toolkit
We’ve developed a toolkit to assist local
businesses in how to reopen safely in the midst
of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read it here.

Meeting Room Notice

Use of the Meeting Rooms at the Chamber Office:
All meetings can be scheduled by contacting
our Community Outreach Coordinator, Donna
Sather, at dsather@clchamber.com

Event Notice
The Home & Business EXPO has been cancelled for 2020.
Businesses that placed a deposit can choose to participate
in our NEW Online Virtual Home and Business Expo! Expo
highlighting their business on their own Chamber webpage
for 6 months, use the deposit funds to register early for
the 2021 Home and Business Expo on April 3rd, 2021, or
request a refund

Maximize Your Membership and Reopening Roadmap

webinars are being offfered every Thursday to help members
get the most out of their membership while also helping tro
navigate these challenging times.

6 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

 80TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
The Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce was founded on September 1, 1940.
We celebrated the 80th Anniversary of our founding by hosting an open house in our own
backyard on August. 25. We dusted off various photo albums for our members to peruse,
enjoyed delicious appetizers from Outback Steakhouse, and snacked on bags of peanuts
from Texas Roadhouse.

In the 80 years since its inception, the City of Crystal Lake and the Chamber have
experienced exponential growth:
1940: Population: 3,889 Chamber membership: 22
2020: Population 39,946Chamber membership: 875
We welcomed Jewel Food Stores and iconic bowling alleys – Crystal Bowl and Metro Bowl.
We also bid farewell to the Crystal Lake Drive-in Theater and Crystal Point Mall.

The Chamber and many businesses had to learn to pivot during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With the support of our members, we were able to hold a mixer, ribbon cutting, Out-2-Lunch,
Business Builders, Maximize Your Membership, Women Empowering Women meetings, offer
Community Recycling Day, Virtual Business Expo, and host our Annual Golf Classic.
To our members: Thank you for allowing us to serve you as we navigate a new normal.
Thank you for trusting us to be your voice at the local, state and federal levels. Thank you for
investing in our organization and our overall business community.

WE APPRECIATE YOU! You are an amazing group of business owners,

employers, professionals and employees. Here’s to 80 more!

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 7

 CHAMBER NEWS
Chamber Activity
Business Builders
Re-Developing Workforce Development in McHenry County
On Thursday, August 13, the Chamber hosted
their bi-monthly Business Builders series on how
a dynamic workforce development group is
taking a concerted action to improve the pool
of candidates in McHenry County and directly
surrounding communities. Our thanks to our panel of
experts, Catherine Jones, Associate Vice President
of Workforce Development at McHenry County
College, Tony Velotta, Organizational Development
Leader at Scot Forge, and Nikki Sullivan, Director
of Continual Improvement at General Kinematics. If
you would like to view the discussion, visit the Crystal
Lake Chamber’s Facebook page.

Mark your calendars for all of our 2020 Business Builders! The remainder of our Business Builders
presentations will be held at the CL Chamber’s Boardroom - 427 W. Virginia Street, as well as Zoom, on
October 15 and December 10.

Our special thanks to our 2020 Business Builders Sponsors: General Kinematics - Professional
Development Sponsor and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital – Lunch Sponsor

BUSINESS BUILDERS SPONSORS

8 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

 CHAMBER NEWS
36th Annual Golf Classic
36th Annual Golf Classic
The Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce’s 36th
Annual Golf Classic at the Crystal Lake Country
Club may have been delayed due to COVID-19,
but this year’s outing was still a success! Golfers
were able to get all 18 holes in before a
horrendous thunderstorm swept through the area.
While we were limited to the number of golfers
we could have due to extenuating circumstances,
we hope to be back at full strength next year!
Thank you to all of our sponsors, including
Leaderboard Sponsor, Snap-on!

SATURDAY, APRIL 3rd 10am - 4pm

CRYSTAL LAKE SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL

1200 S. McHenry Avenue

Register Online During the Month of October & Save $50

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 9

 LETTER TO MEMBERS REGARDING
BENEFITS & DUES
Dear Chamber Member,

We thank you for your continued partnership! The Board of Directors and Chamber Staff have been reviewing our member
dues and benefits structure over the past few months with the primary focus of providing each of you with more value for
your membership dollars in the Chamber. This task wasn’t an easy one, but we think the extra effort we have taken with
this process will be evident to each of you.
Last week, the Board of Directors approved our restructuring plan and in the coming months, as your membership renew-
als come up, we will be sharing how this directly benefits you. It has been over 10 years since the Chamber has made any
changes to the Chamber dues structure. In many instances, to meet budget expectations, efforts were made to go to the
membership with fundraisers, ask for sponsorships from members, or even charge separately for services we provide.
While we have retained some sponsorships, many of these expenses unrelated to your dues are now included in your new
membership levels.
In order to make a tangible difference to your individual business, we have restructured our membership levels and ben-
efits to provide you with additional promotional opportunities and access to programs and services that were previously
not available, as well as the addition of a monthly payment option to allow more flexibility of the annual membership
investment! Please reach out to us if you are interested in switching to a monthly payment plan.
Going forward we will have only three (3) basic memberships sized by the number of employees in your business and a
non-profit member rate (these will include all of the core benefits listed on the back of this letter):
a. Connect Small Business (for businesses with 1-5 employees)
b. Connect Medium Business (for businesses with 6-15 employees)
c. Connect Large Business (for businesses with 16-100 employees)
d. Non-Profit Organization (Type 501c(3) charitable organizations only)
For our members who already have an Enhanced Membership, (or are considering moving up), we have also improved the
benefits and sponsorship opportunities available at these levels. We removed the fee structure that added the cost of the
enhanced membership on top of your business-sized membership dues pricing. You will see a flat rate pricing along with
the additional benefits and sponsorship opportunities for each level. Again, our goal was to increase value for our mem-
bers.
As your membership renewal date approaches, you will be receiving more information directly pertaining to your current
membership level and new benefits and opportunities.
Thank you for your continued trust and support of our
efforts to serve our local Chamber member businesses.
Sincerely,

Bill Eich
President/CEO and your Chamber Staff
Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce

10 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 11
 CRYSTAL LAKE CHAMBER
Resources & Opportunties

COVID-19 CHAMBER RESOURCES

• News from our Members
• Prior Magazine Issues
• COVID-19 Business Resources
• R estore Illinois Plan
• U pdates for Businesses
• C ompliant Business
Partner Program
• O pen Chamber
Businesses
• I llinois Face

Covering
Information

• List of Local
Restaurants
• Video Corner

12 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

 CHAMBER MEMBERS
September Honor Roll
Congratulations to this month’s
Chamber Honor Roll members!
Whether you’re celebrating your 80th anniversary as part
of the Chamber or your 1st, we want to thank you for being
such a huge part of making the Crystal Lake area the strong
business community that it is today!

SUBMIT AN ARTICLE
Wa n t t o b e f e a t u re d i n t he S e p t e m b e r
issue of Business Pathways?
Submit your ar ticle by emailing
i n f o @ c l c h a m b e r. c o m b y S e p t e m b e r 2 0 t h .
(subjec t to availabilit y)

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 13

 CHAMBER MEMBERS
September Honor Roll
80 Years 29 Years 11 Years
Heisler’s Bootery Schafer Brothers Remodeling, Inc. Mid America Vacuum Centers

Crystal Lake Montessori School

69 Years 28 Years
Prestia Tuckpointing Ltd.
Sherman Mechanical, Inc. Friendship House

BMO Harris Crystal Lake 9 Years

51 Years
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Curran Contracting Company 25 Years
Superior Overhead Door
Nelson’s Jewelry, Inc. Crystal Lake Community Band
Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
Ziegler’s Ace Hardware
22 Years Masterpiece International
50 Years Raue Center for the Arts, Inc.
8 Years
Community High School Dist. #155 JourneyCare
Papa Saverio’s Pizzeria Crystal Lake
Cowlin, Curran & Coppedge
21 Years Chick-fil-A
Herrick Auto Rebuilders, Inc.
Family Health Partnership Clinic Craiger Custom Design
48 Years Pearle Vision Northern Continental Heating & Cooling

Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse

19 Years Pampered Tails Pet Grooming

45 Years Portillo’s Hot Dogs, Inc. 7 Years

Home State Bank N.A. Dartmoor Dental
18 Years
Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle U-Haul
The Running Depot
43 Years 6 Years
16 Years
Geske & Sons, Inc. TLS Veterans
Crystal Lake Little League Baseball
42 Years 3 Years
15 Years
Ed’s Rental & Sales, Inc.
SHIFT Co-Working
Kiwanis Club of Crystal Lake
39 Years 2 Years
Melei, Petsche, Spencer, Attorneys at Law
Animal Medical Center Crystal Lake Real World Quality Systems
14 Years
38 Years Colonial Life (Stacy Brown)
Boss Office Products, Inc.
Crystal Lake Park District
1 Year
12 Years
Independence Health and Therapy Taqueria Las Cumbres
Lou Malnati’s
34 Years Advanced Fertility Center of Chicago

All Pro Plumbing, Inc.

The Fountains at Crystal Lake

14 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020

 UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS
September
Thursday, September 17th
Tuesday, September 1st 5:30pm: Young Professionals Summer Bash
11:30am: Women Empowering Women Meeting The Quarry Cable Park & Grille
In-person & Virtual 5517 Northwest Highway
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Tuesday, September 8th
5:15pm: 36th Annual Golf Classic Wednesday, September 30th
Crystal Lake Country Club 9:00 - 12:00pm: Virtual Members in Motion
721 Country Club Rd Networking Scramble
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Register here Every Thursday Afternoon (Thru Sept. 24)
2:45pm: Chamber Golf League
Thursday, August 10th & 24th Redtail Golf Club
12:00pm: Maximize Your Membership 7900 Redtail Drive, Village of Lakewood
Virtual via Zoom AND in-person Village of Lakewood, IL 60014

Chair
2020-2021 Board
Directors:
of Directors Randy Leggee
Pioneer Center for Human Services
Gary Bonick Pam Bialas
Doug McAllister
Allstate-Bonick Agency, LTD Crystal Lake Bank & Trust Company,
Douglas Automotive
N.A.
Vice-Chair Leslie Blake Scott McKeever
Weyers McKeever Financial Partners
Randy Smith Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry
County Ken Pringle
General Kinematics Corp. CPR Finance & Associates, LLC
Scott Block
McHenry County Mental Health Beth Repta
Treasurer Board Repta Realty Group of Keller Williams
Mary Miller Success Realty
Dawn Gilman
Miller Verchota, Inc. Crystal Lake Engraving Kelly Roewer
Trent Gordon Home State Bank, N.A.
Past Chair Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital Catie Schmit
Matt Horist Jennifer Hall Northwestern Memorial HealthCare
American Community Bank & Mercyhealth Tim Urban
Trust Suha Hossain Hammortree Financial
BMO Harris Bank Mike Wheeland
Jennifer Johnson Social Indoor
Exemplar Financial Networ

BUSINESS PATHWAYS • SEPTEM BER 2 0 2 0 15

 Crystal Lake Chamber Staff

Bill Eich Nick Kubiak

President/CEO Marketing & Communications Manager

Donna Sather Wendy Pratola

Community Outreach Coordinator Bookkeeper
Lisa McLaughlin Jackie Ruiz
Membership Development Manager Consultant

16 B U S I N E S S PA T H W A YS • SEP T EMBER 2020


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