Gurrie elected Chairman; Muchow, Ahlgrim accept top spots on Board
ELMHURST – The Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Board of Directors elected three officers for its six-member Executive Committee for 2016 at its regular monthly meeting held November 10 in the Hammersmith Community Room at Community Bank of Elmhurst.
Elected/appointed to serve one-year terms on the Executive Committee were: Chairperson— Tim Gurrie, Pampered Chef consultant since 2010 and former banker; First Vice Chairperson—Joe Muchow, President at E.L. Foust Co. (754 Industrial Drive) since 1997; and Second Vice Chairperson—Charity Ahlgrim, Vice President and Business Development Officer at Community Bank of Elmhurst since 2005.
Gurrie, Muchow and Ahlgrim will be joined on the Executive Committee by Immediate Past Chair Dee Longfellow, Editorial Coordinator for the Elmhurst Independent, ex-officio member John Quigley, Chamber President and CEO since 1999 and a Treasurer soon to be appointed. Gurrie 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.
Muchow and Ahlgrim will serve as Chair of the Marketing and Membership committees, respectively, while Quigley chairs the Governmental Affairs Committee. The to-be-appointed Treasurer will chair the Ways and Means Committee.
Tim Gurrie, Chairman of the Board
Tim Gurrie, a Pampered Chef Consultant since 2010 with 40 years of experience in business and sales, is a second-term elected Director. He is a five-year member of the Chamber’s green-coated Ambassadors and was active in the Chamber and former Elmhurst Economic Development Commission (EEDC) during his earlier years in Elmhurst as a community banker.
Gurrie also has served the chambers of commerce in Burbank and Homer, respectively, as a Director and Ambassador.
Prior to Pampered Chef, Gurrie served as a Vice President and Bank Manager for various retail banks, including two in Elmhurst, served in various national and regional retail sales and commercial leasing positions, and even co-owned a travel agency that is still in business today.
He also has served as President of his homeowners association.
Gurrie holds Associate degrees in both commercial art and advertising. He is a 41-year resident of Downers Grove.
Joe Muchow, First Vice Chair
Joe Muchow, President at E.L. Foust Co. since 1997, was elected to a second term as a Director in 2014 and has served on the Governmental Affairs Committee since 2011. A Chamber member since 1977, Muchow served as General Manager of E.L. Foust from 1989-97 and was President (1995-99) of his Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local.
E.L. Foust has been a manufacturer of high-quality air purifiers for allergy and asthma sufferers since 1974 and now offers a line of “green” cleaning products for work and home.
Muchow has been a member of the Illinois Professional Firefighters Association since 1974, winning Firefighter of the Year in 1998 and receiving the Joseph Hartman Award for Paramedics. He also was active in the local chapter of the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO).
Muchow earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Illinois University and an Associate Degree in Fire Science from the College of DuPage. Until recently, Muchow was a resident of Elmhurst for 36 years.
Charity Ahlgrim, Second Vice Chair
Charity Ahlgrim, Vice President and Business Development Officer at Community Bank of Elmhurst since 2005, was appointed as a Director to fill a Board vacancy in late 2015 after serving two one-year terms as Treasurer (2014-15). Previously, she served two terms as an elected Director after being appointed to the Board in 2006 to fill a vacancy.
A longtime volunteer at the Steak Fry and Elmfest, Ahlgrim also served as a Chamber Director in the 1990s and is a former member of the Chamber Ambassadors.
Community Bank of Elmhurst annually hosts the Chamber’s Mayoral “State of Our City” Membership Breakfast in January and holiday Business After Hours in December.
Ahlgrim has some 30 years of community-based banking experience in Elmhurst and was elected to serve as Treasurer for the City of Elmhurst from 2005-09. During her years in community banking, she has been active in the Spring Road Business Association and is a
co-Founder of the Elmhurst St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
Ahlgrim also is a member of League of Women Voters of Elmhurst and a former Trustee for the Elmhurst Memorial Hospital Foundation. She is a 23-year resident of Elmhurst.
Annual Award and Talent Showcase coming Jan. 29
The new Chairman and officers will be celebrated as part of the ECCI’s 97th Annual Awards and Talent Showcase at the Clarion Inn/Waterford Banquet & Conference Center on Friday, January 29 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Honorees include Café Amano as the A.J. “Toche” Terrones Business of the Year; Tim Gurrie of Pampered Chef TLG as Ambassador of the Year; Joe Muchow of E.L. Foust Co., Inc., as the Chairman’s Award recipient; and, Ralph Pechanio as the Civic Hall of Fame inductee.
The evening begins with a cash bar at 6 p.m., followed by dinner stations, which open at 7. At 8 p.m., the Awards program and Talent Showcase will begin featuring the dance styles of the DeForest Dance Academy.
Tickets are $50 per person, $90 per couple or $360 for a group of eight and include dinner, program and talent performance. To attend, please call 630-834-6060 or visit elmhurstchamber.org.
