Elmhurst chamber inducts Hall of Fame member
Cable TV producer, author and community volunteer Genie Urick will be honored as the 2018 inductee into the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry Civic Hall of Fame.
Urick will become the Hall of Fame's 27th member during the induction ceremony Friday at the chamber's 100th Annual Awards Gala at The Drake Oak Brook Hotel.
"Genie is one of those rare individuals who are happy to work behind the scenes to accomplish great things so that others may stand in the limelight," said John R. Quigley, ECCI president and CEO.
Urick worked closely with the chamber during her decades of service as the city's cable television coordinator starting in 1982 and producer of "Elmhurst Our Kind of Town," also known as EOKT, which began as a monthly cable TV access program.
For nearly two decades, the show has aired coverage of the chamber's awards gala and "State of Our City" mayoral address, along with Elmhurst's Memorial Day Parade, St. Patrick's Day Parade and Veterans Day Memorial Ceremony on Comcast Channel 6 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99.
Elmfest was among the show's featured programs during the 1990s through the community festival's end in 2008.
Urick has produced more than 1,400 cable TV programs, including "Newsline Elmhurst," "Elmhurst NOW" and "Time Travelers."
"The level of professional coverage that Genie and her crew has provided over the years to our chamber and many other organizations in Elmhurst is unmatched for local access," said Quigley, who serves as EOKT co-anchor for both the Dan Gibbon's Turkey Trot Foundation 5K Run and St. Pat's Parade.
Urick is co-author of "The First Ladies of Elmhurst: Prominent Women of the Twentieth Century," with Ruth Strand, who died before the book was published in 2001.
Long active in the Ray Graham Association, Urick received the Professional Leadership Award in 1998 for "striving for a better tomorrow" and is a two-time Excellence in Volunteerism Award honoree.
Urick is among the founding parents who established the Reality is Respect, Appreciation and Fulfillment Day Program for young adults with autism and developmental challenges, and a RRAF Volunteer Support Award recipient.
Active in the American Association of University Women Elmhurst branch, Urick was awarded a national research and projects grant in 1987 to start a Sunday recreation program for autistic children at the Elmhurst Community Center.
Urick was named an Educational Foundation honoree in 1984, with the Elmhurst AAUW establishing a grant fellowship in her name.
While serving on the Bicentennial Project Committee, the Elmhurst AAUW produced a booklet, "Elmhurst: Origin of Names, Streets, Parks and Landmarks," with Urick contributing the illustrations.
She became the first female recipient of the Elmhurst College Bluejay Backers' Community Service Award for her crucial role in expanding the cable TV coverage of the school's intercollegiate athletic programs.
The Civic Hall of Fame, which was established in 1992, recognizes those who make major contributions to the community.
The late Joe Newton, legendary boys cross country coach at York High School, was the inaugural Hall of Fame inductee.