Barrington-area chamber sends good vibrations at gala

More than 200 business and community members gathered Thursday night for the second annual Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce Gala and Silent Auction.

The theme of the event, held at the Stonegate Conference & Banquet Centre in Hoffman Estates, was “good vibrations,” which Chamber President and CEO Suzanne Corr said reflected one of the chamber's missions, to give send good vibrations into the local business community.

“One of the most powerful thing the chamber does is it connect people,” Corr said.

“Every event is about providing members with the opportunity to make positive business relationships.”

The Business Excellence Award went to Norton USA of Barrington. Dennis Kelly of FGMK Insurance won the Volunteer of the Year Award. The chamber's Rookie of the Year Award went to Jason Tennyson of Liberty Mutual. Charlotte Neault of Barrington Bank & Trust, who has served as the chamber's chairman of the board, won the BACC Leadership Award.

A new honor, called the Young Entrepreneur Awards, went to the Barrington High School students who formed a company called FMB Technology as part of their business incubator class.

The company offers a mobile app for tracking school buses. The students, Sanjit Narendra, Connor Boundy, Jack Lenihan, Luke Nilles and Massimo Ghude, recently landed their first deal with a school district in Bremen Township.

“We don't want to get just one school district,” Lenihan said. “We want to get all of them.”

The gala's silent auction benefitted the Lauren Brown Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is awarded each year to local high school students who will study communications or marketing. Lauren Brown served as the chamber's communication director before dying from ovarian cancer.

In addition to sports memorabilia and gift certificates, the auction offered unique experiences like having breakfast with a Barrington police officer and getting a ride to school in a squad car.