Latest news with #NoPlaceforHate
Chicago Tribune
07-04-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
‘We're promoting the chamber members': Portage chamber's new leader focused on growth, service
Jerry Czarnecki, new executive director of the Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce, is focused on growing membership by improving services to the business community. 'We're a business whose business is to run businesses, then help businesses run,' he said. 'We're basically on your payroll,' he said, as an advocate for the business community. That includes promoting businesses on social media by sharing members' posts about events and news about their business. 'We're not promoting the chamber, we're promoting the chamber members,' he said. The chamber has about 280 members, with membership fees as low as $350 per year. Czarnecki and his team are looking for ways to serve the community better and to connect residents to services. That includes working with the city's utilities department to offer a QR code that links to a member directory to show where various services are available. That's a service that helps new utilities customers get better acquainted with the community. Last year, the chamber launched a magazine for Portage. Former executive director Nancy Simpson's primary focus now is the magazine. Bringing in Czarnecki eases pressures on Simpson. 'You can't put everything on a plate before more stuff starts falling off,' he said. Increasing the staff allows the chamber to do more. He hopes to add staff as membership continues to grow. 'We've definitely not saturated the community,' he said. At every monthly board meeting, members are expected to provide names of potential business leaders to contact about membership. It's a lukewarm introduction, Czarnecki said, but it's better than a cold call. The chamber's public policy committee has had success recently, persuading the City Council to adopt changes in licensing for contractors and other requirements. That work in advising the city on potential policy changes, begun last year when Simpson was executive director, will continue, Czarnecki said. 'We really want to be a part of what's happening there.' The chamber is also working with Portage Township Schools to expand the school district's No Place for Hate initiative. The chamber will roll out that program to member businesses first, then go beyond it to other businesses as well. The aim is to let students know that local displays displaying the No Place for Hate sign support the students in fighting bigotry and bullying. A chamber event each September helps build awareness of the community. A progressive dinner involves transporting 60 to 80 people via limo buses to multiple restaurants for a sampling of their offerings. 'We really need to highlight the community,' Czarnecki said. Czarnecki's past careers have had an impact on his current job. As a teacher and later as executive director of a homeless shelter, his job has always been about serving people and helping them make the connections they need for a brighter future. Small wins matter. 'Success is the most addictive drug in the world,' he said. 'I think there's a lot of potential here' in terms of economic development, he said.
Chicago Tribune
11-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Portage High School baseball, softball fields getting facelifts
The Portage Township School Board approved a nearly $3 million contract Monday for varsity baseball and softball field improvements at Portage High School. The contract will cover new turf for the fields. New fencing will also be installed, but that's going to be a separate contract, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said. She's hoping there will be enough money left for new scoreboards, too, but that remains to be seen. Work will begin in very early summer, right after the teams' season concludes, Alaniz said. In other business, Greater Portage Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jerry Czarnecki told the School Board that the No Place for Hate project being done with local businesses in conjunction with the school district will roll out around the end of this month. The project is for all businesses, not just chamber members, to let students know that participating businesses pledge not to tolerate hatred toward others. Using the same language in the community as in the schools helps kids understand proper behavior is expected throughout the community, not just at school, Alaniz said. Like schools, businesses displaying the sticker in their window will be identified as a welcoming environment, she said. 'This is language that anyone can understand,' Alaniz said. 'We can best foster the development of being positive and being kind by simply saying this isn't a place for hate. This isn't a community for hate. We don't tolerate those things here.' Alaniz's first meeting with Czarnecki on this project was even before he became executive director on Jan. 1. The chamber is also partnering with the district in hopes of bringing back the Reality Store project to help middle school students better understand what it takes to thrive financially in the real world, Czarnecki said.
