Schaumburg Business Association to celebrate 20-year anniversary Tuesday

Created just as the national psyche and consumer confidence suffered a devastating blow in September 2001, the Schaumburg Business Association next week will celebrate its 20 years representing the members of Illinois' second largest economy.

The in-person breakfast event Tuesday at Chandler's Banquets in Schaumburg will feature an anniversary slideshow, an address by founding SBA Chairman Brian Burke of Links Technology Solutions, a pinning ceremony for other founding members, proclamation presentations by Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly and state Rep. Michelle Mussman, and the announcement of award nominees for the Toast of Schaumburg gala on Oct. 22.

For the 25 years before the SBA's founding, Schaumburg was a member - and long the headquarters - of the regional Northwest Suburban Association of Commerce and Industry.

Dailly said membership in regional organization made sense at the time. But by the late '90s, the needs of Schaumburg's business community were evolving.

In the final years of Schaumburg's membership in NSACI (pronounced "Na-See"), it was becoming clear the village's business community was significantly different from those of other, more distant members such as Libertyville, Dailly said.

"There was a point where we felt we needed to have our own (association)," he added.

Though the village of Schaumburg has an economic development department, its relationship with the SBA has been one of mutual support and cooperation as each has focused on specific goals, Dailly said.

"There's a lot of things the SBA has helped with, particularly smaller businesses," he said. "They create this ability for businesses to get together and talk about things."

As for NSACI, it moved its headquarters to Rolling Meadows and hung on for five more years before dissolving shortly after the organization's 30th anniversary.

By then its membership was severely declining, which Dailly suspects was a result of other communities also realizing they needed more local business organizations of their own.

The SBA's anniversary-oriented "Good Morning, Schaumburg!" event will run from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 14, at Chandler's, 401 N. Roselle Road in Schaumburg.

All attendees are asked to wear face masks regardless of their vaccination status.

Admission is $30 for SBA members and $50 for nonmembers. To register online, visit schaumburgbusiness.memberzone.com/eventregistration/register/3796.