Business Buzz - January 2008

Find Employees at the KidsMatter Job Fair
First Entrepreneurship Forum a Huge Success
Decision for the Future 2008 - Please Remember to Vote
Annual Northern Trust Exemplary Partnership Breakfast
Chamber of Commerce Asks District 203 Tough Questions
Mark Your Calendar
Business Partnership Executive Council Members

Find Employees at the KidsMatter Job Fair

The annual KidsMatter Job Fair is set for March 19 at North Central College's Merner Fieldhouse. If you need qualified part-time employees, this is where to find them. To participate in the Fair, download the registration form. For more information, go to www.KidsMatter2us.org (a business partner of District 203). This is a definite win-win for students and for businesses!

First Entrepreneurship Forum A Huge Success 
 
Five panelists, 75 students and a room full of business partners and entrepreneurs made for some exciting table conversation at the first annual Forum on Entrepreneurship, sponsored by the District 203 Business Partnership Executive Council on November 14.

Panelists included Bill and Karen Garlough, owners of My Chef Catering and national Small Business of the Year Award winners; John Rico, founder and CEO of Rico Enterprises; Ida Manning, Executive Director for the Illinois Institute for Entrepreneurship Education; and NCHS 2007 graduate Nick Stocchero, a national award winner and young entrepreneur who began his own computer repair company in high school. The panel was moderated by then Chamber President and CEO Mike Skarr.

According to Dr. Alan Leis, several years ago a group of local business leaders and educators developed what are believed to be "21st Century Skills," which includes entrepreneurial skills. "We're trying to help you do that through the five parts of our mission statement - by teaching you to be complex thinkers, collaborative workers, community contributors and self-directed learners," he told the students. "But we also need to make you aware of some of the things that are going on out there, and need to expose you to adult role models that have been successful at entrepreneurial skills. That's the whole point of today."

District 203 business partners and table captains for the day were: Nicki Anderson, Gail Andrews, Shane Beard, Tim & Tom Belgio, Brand Bobosky, Dr. Mary Ann Bobosky, Chuck Bokar, Shirley Fancher, Sun Kwok, Dr. Mike Maloney, Dave Martin, John Norman, John Schmitt and Kay Smith.

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Decision For the Future 2008 -
Please Remember to Vote

On Tuesday, February 5, the District 203 community will be asked to make a decision regarding the proposed Plan for Upgrading School Facilities 2007-2012. At stake is a $114.9 million plan that requires a $43 million bond referendum (with $71.9 million in District funding available). Highlights include:

• a major renovation and additions to Naperville Central on the current site - $87.7 million
• an addition and renovation at Mill Street Elementary - $7.3 million
• a new centralized Early Childhood facility built on property owned by the District at Huntington Estates - $11 million (program required by State & Federal law)
• changes to the Naperville North pool depth and locker areas, as well as to outside traffic patterns - $5.2 million
• security modifications at Prairie and Ranch View Elementaries, and at Washington Jr. High - $.7 million
• a new prep kitchen at NCHS that would allow a hot lunch program at all elementary schools
• a program contingency fund for unanticipated expenses, such as storm water remediation - $3 million

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Annual Northern Trust Exemplary Partnership Breakfast

District 203 will celebrate its annual Exemplary Partnership Breakfast on Wednesday, March 5, beginning at 7:30 AM at the Cress Creek Country Club. District 203 schools will soon be nominating exemplary partnerships for recognition.

A highlight of the morning is always the student-centered presentations, which focus on the Exemplary Partnership Award winners. The breakfast has been sponsored for many years by business partner Northern Trust, which will underwrite the 2008 event.

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Chamber of Commerce Asks District 203
Tough Questions

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce recently posed questions to District 203 officials related to the Plan for Upgrading School Facilities 2007-2012. The questions were answered in a series of meetings hosted by the Chamber's Legislative Committee.

Richard Greene, the Chamber's new President and CEO, announced in a letter dated January 11 that their primary concerns regarding the February 5 referendum were answered. That letter is accessible on the Government Affairs portion of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce website.

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Mark Your Calendar
Feb. 5	General Primary Election - Please vote!
Feb. 21	NEF Appreciation Breakfast, 7:30 AM, Naperville Country Club (note date change)
March 5	14th annual Northern Trust Exemplary Partnership Breakfast, 7:30 AM, Cress Creek CC
April 22	District Awards Reception, 7 PM, Holiday Inn Select, Naperville
May 1	NCHS Business Management Class Presentation, 8:30 AM - 1 PM, Administrative Center
May 6	NNHS Business Management Class Presentation, 8 AM - 1 PM, Administrative Center
May 8	Annual NEF Building a Passion Breakfast, 7:30 AM, Holiday Inn Select, Naperville
July 14	Annual NEF Golf Outing, call (630) 420-6475 for more information

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Business Partnership Executive Council Members

Click here to go to the Business Partnerships General Information page, which includes a listing of the Business Partnership Executive Council members.

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