ELMHURST, Ill., November 13, 2013 – The Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors elected three officers to its six-member Executive Committee for 2014 during their regular monthly meeting held November 12 in the Hammersmith Community Room at Community Bank of Elmhurst (330 West Butterfield Road).
Elected by the Board of Directors to one-year Executive Committee terms were:
Chairperson—Julie Miller, Office Manager and Paralegal at Patrick T. Sheehan & Associates, Attorneys at Law (314 North York Street), since 2000;
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First Vice Chairperson—Dee Longfellow, Editorial Coordinator for Rock Valley Publishing, publisher of the Elmhurst Independent (240 North West Avenue); and
Second Vice Chairperson—Michael Himmes, newly-hired as Vice President-Commercial Lending at Suburban Bank & Trust Co. (150 East Butterfield Road).
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Miller, Longfellow and Himmes will be joined on the Executive Committee by Immediate Past Chair Paul Koch, Partner and General Manager at Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge (200 West Grand Avenue) since 1988, a Chair-appointed Treasurer soon to be determined and ex-officio member John Quigley, Chamber President and CEO since 1999.
Miller served as Quigley’s first student intern while a senior at Elmhurst College, his Alma Mater, where he worked before the Chamber hired him away, and is the first of a quartet of former interns to serve as Directors to rise to the rank of Board Chair.
Former interns elected to the Board include Joe Skibbie (then with Community Bank) and Jillian Milinkovich (then with OEC Business Interiors) and Himmes (formerly of MB Financial and Harris Bank), who were elected in 2004, 2006 and 2009/2012, respectively.
Miller also becomes only the eighth female Board Chair in the Chamber’s 95-year history, all of them since 1982, but the sixth during Quigley’s 14-year tenure.
Preceding Miller as Board Chairs were Virginia “Ginny” Harmon (1982) of Unique Travel Service, Nancy Phillips (1988) of York State Bank, Gloria Duarte (1999) of Café Las Belles Artes, Cathy Bajkowski (2003) of CB Health Insurance, Dare Messina (2006) of L.W. Reedy Real Estate, Debra Klosterman (2007) of Guaranteed Rate and Jennifer Speaker (2013) of SMB Advantage Group.
Miller will work closely with the Chamber staff and oversee the policy-making work of the Chamber Board and its four standing committees (Marketing, Membership, Ways and Means, and Governmental Affairs), as well special committees and task forces.
Longfellow, Himmes and the appointed Treasurer will serve as Chair of the Marketing, Membership and Ways and Means committees, respectively, while Quigley chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee.
Julie Miller
Julie Miller, Office Manager and Paralegal at the IRS law firm of Patrick T. Sheehan & Associates Attorneys at Law since 2000, is a former Elmhurst College student intern who served one term as a Director (2007-10) and then was appointed to Board in February of 2011 to fill a vacancy before being elected in November of 2011.
As First Vice Chair, Miller chaired the Marketing Committee in 2013. In 2012, she served as Second Vice Chair and chaired the Membership Committee. She also has served on the Ways and Means Committee since 2008 and previously served on the now-defunct Elmfest Steering Committee for seven years.
The law firm sponsored the Chamber’s Inaugural Duck Race in 2011 and was an Elmfest sponsor, and her husband (Patrick Sheehan) is a former member of the Chamber’s Board.
Her roles at the law firm include Staff Supervisor, Building Manager, Human Resources Administrator, Advertising/Marketing Director and Accounts Payable/Receivable Manager.
Miller interned at the Chamber during her senior year at Elmhurst College, while she completed work on a Bachelor of Arts degree (2000) in Government and Urban Studies.
A 12-year member of the Elmhurst Jaycees (chartered as the Junior Chamber of Commerce), Miller has served as the organization’s Membership Vice President and Secretary, and is a member of the Distinguished Service Award (DSA) Committee, including long-time Chairperson. She is also a member of the Elmhurst Newcomers & Neighbors Club, a not-for-profit club for women.
She has lived in Elmhurst for the past 15 years.
Dee Longfellow
Dee Longfellow, Editorial Coordinator for Rock Valley Publishing, publisher of the Elmhurst Independent, is a second-term elected Chamber Director who previously served on the Board (1988-89) and Membership Committee while representing the Holiday Inn Elmhurst.
As Second Vice Chair, Longfellow chaired the Membership Committee in 2013. In 2012, she served as Treasurer and chaired the Ways and Means Committee. She also has served on the Governmental Affairs Committee since 2010.
Longfellow also is the former Program Director for the Northwest & Schaumburg Association of Commerce & Industry (NASCI), a regional chamber where she planned the annual gala, golf outing, job fair and other special events. Prior to NASCI, she ran her own public relations and marketing company for small businesses and individuals.
Longfellow is a Founding Board member, Past President (1997) and Former Publicity Chair of the Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation (ECAF), and a former member, Publicity Chair and Newsletter Editor of the Elmhurst Lions Club.
Longfellow is a graduate (B.A.) of Augustana College in South Dakota.
She is a resident of Villa Park and former Elmhurst resident (1985-97).
Michael Himmes
Michael Himmes, newly-hired Vice President-Commercial Lending at Suburban Bank & Trust, is a second-term elected Director and the fourth former Elmhurst College student intern to be elected to the Board since 2004.
Himmes worked on such major Chamber events as Elmfest and the Annual Meeting/
Silent Auction during his service as a JOBPATH Program intern (2002-03).
Prior to joining SBT, Himmes had served as Assistant Vice President, Commercial Banking, at MB Financial Bank since 2010.
His resume includes five years at Harris in multiple positions, including Relationship Manager, Business Banking, and one year at Citadel Investment Group as a Settlement Specialist.
Himmes is a member of the Elmhurst Jaycees, including service as Secretary.
A Summa Cum Laude graduate from Elmhurst College with a Bachelor of Arts degree as a Finance major and Economics minor, Himmes has participated in the Center for Professional Excellence’s (CPE) Shadow Program since 2008.
He is a 31-year resident of Villa Park.
Paul Koch
Paul Koch, Partner and General Manager at Larry Roesch Chrysler Jeep Dodge since 1988, is a second-term Director who was first appointed to the Board in 2009 to fill a vacancy before being elected in 2010 and again in 2013.
In 2012, Koch served as First Vice Chair and chaired the Marketing Committee. He served as Second Vice Chair and chaired the Membership Committee in 2011. He also has served on the Governmental Affairs Committee since 2010.
Larry Roesch Family Auto Group was a major sponsor of Elmfest during the 2000s.
Prior to joining the Larry Roesch Family Auto Group, Koch served at R.R. Donnelley & Sons and Sargent & Lundy as a Mechanical Engineer.
Koch serves on the Board of Governors at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and as Coach/Manager for the Elmhurst-based Chiefs Hockey Club, and is a Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst.
A 1979 graduate of Immaculate Conception High School in Elmhurst, Koch holds a Bachelor of Science degree (1984) from Northeastern University in Boston in mechanical engineering.
A former Elmhurst resident, Koch has resided in Bensenville for 22 years.
Established in 1918, the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization of business and professional men and women who have joined together for the purpose of promoting the civic and commercial progress of the community.
The mission of the Chamber is to promote an environment that creates success for local businesses and our community.
The Chamber also serves the needs of its members through services, programs and events that provide opportunities for networking and referral, business education, development and promotion, governmental representation and community involvement.
