And the Winners Are |An Honor Unlike Any Other |
Lifetime Achievement Award | Nominees | Chairman's Message

The following column appeared in the May 1st edition of the Naperville Sun:

An Honor Unlike Any Other
By Tom Belgio

It was an inspiring movement: the spotlights were searching, my heart could have replaced the drum roll it was beating so fast, and as the envelope was opened my eyes focused on the presenter’s lips and out came, "Belgio's Catering." The next few minutes are hard to recall because winning the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Awards is an honor unlike any other.

Next Friday, May 8th, over 400 of our business community’s leaders will put on their formal best and head to Wyndham Lisle to celebrate as the Chamber names the 12th Small Business of the Year recipient at their annual gala.

Being named the Small Business of the Year is a huge honor, and it means something extra special because of the support each nominee and every winner receives from the hundreds of community leaders and members who attend the gala.

The event honors businesses for their achievements by naming winners in six different categories, not-for-profit, 5 under 5, 1-5 employees, 6-30 employees, 31 – 99 employees, and 100 + employees, before naming the overall Small Business of the Year.

This year, we are honoring the lifetime of good work by Ray Jones of Friedrich Jones Funeral Home. In addition to a commitment to excellent service Ray has been an active champion of Naperville, leading dozens of charitable drives including Ss. Peter and Paul Church’s “Light the Way,” the United Way, and St. Patrick’s Residence, “gold Key Gala.” In addition Ray has provided excellent counsel and leadership while serving on boards such as the Chamber, Heritage YMCA, Little Friends, Edward Hospital Foundation, and Naperville Noon Rotary.

Anyone from the community is welcome to the join the Chamber for this great event. Times are tough for businesses and next Friday is a celebration of everything our community and our businesses have accomplished through very difficult economic times.

You can register for just $85 a person or get a table of ten by calling the Chamber at (630) 355-4141, or visiting their Small Business of the Year Awards website at www.naperville.net/sby.

My brother Tim and I would like to congratulate every organization that was nominated for the award this year. The competition for this award is very tough and winning the award means so much, because you know you are competing against some of the best entrepreneurs around. We would also like to thank Harris N.A. for their sponsorship of this event. Without their support we would not be able to put on a first-class event.

We would also like to thank every Member of the Chamber for their continued support. Without their involvement in our Chamber, we wouldn’t have a Small Business of the Year Award. So congratulations to all of the Chamber’s members for their achievements over the past the year, we hope to see many of you at next Friday’s gala. It’s not just a celebration of the winners, it is a celebration of our outstanding Chamber and business community.
 

Tom Belgio, with his brother Tim, own Belgio’s Catering, a recipient of the 2007 Overall Small Business of the Year Award. He can be reached at (630) 369-6100.