Business

Northbrook chamber announces 2023 Business Award winners

Posted February 07, 2023 10:00 pm

Dave Oberhelman

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The management and staff of Shellé Jewelers, the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Corporate Citizen of the Year. Courtesy of Shellé Jewelers

The Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry recently announced its 2023 Business Award winners.

The chamber recognized Newmedical Technology Inc. as its Business of the Year. The 19-year-old company, located at 310 Era Drive in a 47,000-square-foot building in the Sky Harbor area, is led by CEO Mike Hanna. It manufactures and distributes products and therapies for wound care, scar management, skin care and surgical solutions.

Mike Hanna, CEO of Newmedical Technology, Inc., the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Business of the Year. Courtesy of Newmedical Technology, Inc.

Shellé Jewelers received the chamber's Corporate Citizen of the Year award. The jewelry business, 322 Skokie Blvd., was founded in Chicago in 1951, but relocated to Northbrook in 2008. The family business's annual Mother's Day fundraisers have benefitted organizations such as Ronald McDonald House and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It also supports the Highland Park Community Foundation, which last year named Shellé its "Corporate Champion."

This year, the chamber instituted two new awards: Emerging Business of the Year and Franchise of the Year.

Ed and Alexandrea Gjertsen of Engage Wealth Group, which is the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Emerging Business of the Year. Courtesy of Meagan Biebel

As its Emerging Business of the Year, the chamber recognized Engage Wealth Group, 211 Waukegan Road, a financial planning firm led by the husband-and-wife team Ed and Alexandrea Gjertsen.

Neil and Bonnie Goldberg of Nothing Bundt Cakes, which was named the Northbrook chamber's Franchise of the Year. Courtesy of Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry

The Franchise of the Year is Nothing Bundt Cakes, 190 Waukegan Road, Deerfield. Owners Neil and Bonnie Goldberg bought the existing business in 2020 and have seen year-to-year growth - enough for Bonnie to leave her job as a nurse to become head baker. Neil Goldberg still was working in commercial real estate when he bought the franchise.

Howard Wallach, owner of A-Z Entertainment, is the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Volunteer of the Year. Courtesy of Northbrook Chamber of Commerce & Industry

The chamber's 2023 Volunteer of the Year is Howard Wallach, owner of A-Z Entertainment in Northbrook, which provides entertainment options and technology to people's special events. Starting as a special events deejay, Wallach has supported numerous chamber events and provides "mentorship and encouragement to local entrepreneurs," the chamber said.

Award recipients will be recognized at the chamber's annual meeting and awards celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. March 13 at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel, 933 Skokie Blvd. The event is sponsored by the Northbrook Bank & Trust Company.

The event will include an informal networking period, dinner, award presentations, recognition of the chamber's new board members, and a preview of programs and goals for the year.

For more information on the Business Award winners, visit northbrookchamber.org.

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