THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2015

2015 James Tyree Award: Vote for your Favorite Emerging Businesses at the Pitch Event

Each year at our Annual Meeting, we present the James Tyree Emerging Business Leadership Award to the leader of a high-growth Chicagoland small business who is philanthropically active in the community and who best represents the spirit and values of the late Chicagoland Chamber Chairman and business leader James Tyree.

On Wednesday, April 22, we are hosting an interactive Shark Tank-style kickoff reception to give the top 20 front-runners for the award a chance to pitch their businesses to the audience and a panel of judges. And for the first time, we invite our members and Chicago’s business community to become more involved in the voting process.

Join us at Mesirow Financial this Wednesday to help decide which 12 businesses advance to the enxt round of judging by voting on your mobile phone throughout the event. A panel of former Tyree Award winners and finalists will serve as judges: John Roa of AKTA, Jim Alvarez of AuctionsByCellular, and Llinda Maclachlan of YJT Solutions. Michael Arndt, Editor of Crain’s Chicago Business, will moderate the event.

We are also expecting some special guests in attendance, including Richard Price, CEO of Mesirow Financial; Larry Richman, CEO of The PrivateBank; Alderman Ed Burke (14), Chair of the Finance Committee; Alderman Michele Smith (43); Roxanne Nava, Chief Small Business Officer, City of Chicago; and Eve Tyree, Chairman of the James Tyree Foundation.

Click here for more information about the James Tyree Award, including a video about last year’s winner John Roa, Founder and CEO of AKTA.

Click here to register for the Kickoff Reception. We look forward to seeing you there!

The Exchange 2015: Made in Chicago, Built for Success

Made in Chicago. Embodying that theme, some of the top innovators in Chicago’s food and beverage industry discussed how they built businesses from the ground up and sustained success in this highly competitive field in front a packed house during the Made in Chicago keynote at The Exchange 2015 last night at the Hilton Chicago.

Serving on the keynote panel were Bob Jensen, Co-Founder and Owner of Argus Brewery; R.J. Melman, Managing Partner for several Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE) restaurants; Marc Schulman, President of Eli's Cheesecake; and Alejandro Silva, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Evans Food Group Ltd. John Carpenter, Reporter for the Chicago Tribune’s Blue Sky Innovation, moderated the panel.

After the keynote, the trade show floor in the Hilton Chicago's Grand Ballroom filled up with Chamber member exhibitors and attendees networking, sampling tasty dishes, and enjoying craft beers courtesy of Argus Brewery.

Thank you to all of our sponsors, marketing partners, exhibitors, and everyone who attended the event and helped make it such an enormous success!

Up Next: Upcoming Events 

•    ABC Humane Wildlife and Pest Control Inc., DBA Chicago Wildlife Management
•    Advanced Events Inc
•    Apex Management & Special Events, Inc.
•    Buena Vista Optical, PC
•    Carnivale
•    CSW Solutions Inc.
•    Daley and Georges, Ltd.
•    Diageo North America 
•    Direct Steel
•    Ensemble Espanol Spanish Dance Theater
•    Family Centered Education Agency
•    Ferrer Foundation
•    Frank Cooper Insurance Agency Inc.
•    Goose Island Beer Company - Anheuser Busch
•    Happy Dog Barkery
•    Iowa College Acquisition, LLC 
•    Melendez Insurance
•    PMPC Architects
•    Procurement Concepts
•    Professional Systems, Inc.
•    Ricks Service Incorporated
•    Roger Park Business Alliance
•    The Resurrection Project
•    WeWork

Questions about Chamber membership? Contact Membership Resources Manager Lisa Sims at lsims@chicagolandchamber.org or 312.494.6731.

New to the Chamber? Make sure to connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, our LinkedIn Company Page, and our LinkedIn Group.