Schaumburg Business Association names new award after founding president

At its final morning gathering of the year, the Schaumburg Business Association surprised its founding president Laurie Stone by announcing it would name a new annual award in her honor to recognize a woman exemplifying excellence in leadership.

"It was a lovely surprise," said Stone, who believed she was attending last week's meeting as a guest of recent board of directors member Jim Burke. "I really believe leadership is never about the individual. It's about the team and unleashing the power of the team."

The fledgling SBA recruited Stone from the Greater O'Hare Association to be its founding president in September 2001 - hardly a time when many were embarking on new business enterprises.

But the new chamber of commerce quickly grew and thrived under Stone's early leadership. Though she technically served for two separate periods, the time she was away was so short - less than a year - that she thinks of her presidency now as a single nine-year run.

Burke, the chief operating officer of Links Technology Solutions in Schaumburg, said The Laurie Stone Award was the brainchild of the 2017 board of directors.

They hoped for it to make its debut at the Toast of Schaumburg awards dinner in October, but logistical issues prevented that from happening. Instead, the first recipient of the award will be announced next fall, Burke said.

The winner will be a member of the SBA whose leadership role may be within the organization, her own business or the community at large.

"It's time to recognize women in leadership," Burke said. "We need to be at the front of this."

Burke's father, Brian Burke, is the CEO of Links Technology Solutions, the founding chairman of the SBA and the namesake of its annual business of the year award.