Wheeling, Prospect Heights leadera stress importance of teamwork

Wheeling Village President Dean Argiris and Prospect Heights Mayor Nick Helmer stressed the importance of teamwork at the Wheeling/Prospect Heights Area Chamber of Commerce quarterly membership luncheon Friday afternoon.

Business, municipal, state and national leaders attended the luncheon at Spears Bourbon Burgers Beer in Wheeling.

Helmer highlighted the August opening of the Prospect Heights Ramada and the city's other hotels.

While Wheeling has a big restaurant scene, Nick Helmer said,"we want to be the city of hotels."

Helmer advised local business owners who attended the luncheon to treat their employees with respect and include them in decisions being made about the company, just as Prospect Heights works closely with the Village of Wheeling.

"I couldn't do my job without Dean and his people helping me out," Helmer said. "They take economic development strides much bigger than we do, and are successful. Businesses should do the same."

Argiris followed Helmer by also crediting the village's success to the product of working with other organizations.

"It's all about teamwork, it's all about building bridges whether with park or library," Argiris said.

Attracting Richelieu Foods and other new businesses to Wheeling has made this year a "home run," Argiris said. "In the last three years, we've taken the industrial park and created well over 1,000 jobs. That's economic development."

Argiris closed out the luncheon by saying Wheeling will have a new retail announcement coming in the next two weeks.