Library Hosts ECCI Civic HOF Public Memorial

A handful of the 33 inductees participated in the December 15 unveiling of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI) Centennial Celebration NFP’s Civic Hall of Fame public memorial held at the Elmhurst Public Library.

The public memorial features a portable TouchPros Touch Wall interactive, touch-screen TV monitor (65 inches) on which users can view biographies, photographs and video clips of each of the inductees, and will “travel” around Elmhurst before finding its final home.

The Civic HOF website went live last September as part of ECCI’s Annual Chamber of Commerce Month celebrations.

Since its creation in 1992—then as part of the Opening Ceremonies at the Elmfest community festival—the Civic HOF has welcomed 33 businesspeople, community volunteers and elected officials. Since Elmfest’s finale in 2009, inductees have been honored at ECCI’s Annual Awards Gala in all but one of those years.

Civic HOF attendees included York Theatre’s Willis Johnson (2002),Elmhurst Independent’s Pete Cruger (2012), Elmhurst Veterans Commission’s Ralph Pechanio (2015), Silverado Grill’s Jack Island (2017) and Ahlgrim Funeral Home’s Scott Ahlgrim (2020).

Scott and wife Charity Ahlgrim (his fellow 2020 inductee) made a five-figure donation in 2022 to lift Civic HOF fundraising above its $50,000 goal.

The NFP has invested some $17,000 in the Civic HOF memorial’s hardware, software and related fees for installation, cloud hosting, site creation and extended warranty.

The Civic HOF fundraising is part of the NFP’s one-of-a-kind $250,000 Capital Campaign established for ECCI’s Centennial Celebration (100th Anniversary) in 2018. The campaign includes the $150,000 Ralph P. Pechanio Student Internship Endowment Fund at Elmhurst University and $50,000 Second Century Fund--both of which also have exceeded their goals.

Tax-deductible donations to the Civic HOF Fund, Second Century Fund or Pechanio Endowment Fund can be made by contacting Quigley by phone at 630-834-6060 or e-mailing johnq@elmhurstchamber.org.