LOCAL BUSINESS AWARD

Judging the value of a company to a community can be a pretty tricky business. How do you decide? The taxes it generates? The amount of public service performed? Less tangible contributions like community pride?

Those were the kinds of questions faced by Des Plaines, a community of 55,000 people northwest of Chicago, when it decided to honor excellence in local business.

The answer was the initiation of a set of awards the Des Plaines community and business found to be unlike any other awards given by municipalities across the nation to deserving local business. In the early stages of program development inquiries were made to national and local membership organizations and to a number of cities. The organizations had no accumulated data and the descriptions of awards programs in other cities supported Des Plaines' claim to uniqueness.

Now, the first winners of the Des Plaines' awards, called the Eddies, have been announced by the competition's sponsor, the Des Plaines Economic Development Commission (EDC).

What makes the awards unique is the fact that they recognize not simply one facet of a company's value to the community. They recognize that a company's value to the community goes beyond its contribution to the community's economic welfare. It also touches a broad set of values, such as sense of community and contribution to organizations and groups that serve the general welfare.

Among the criteria are the extent of a company's growth; increases in employment; increases in the amount of sales taxes and real estate taxes brought to the community; the extent of donations in money and time to the community; and the amount of Job training and education to employees.

Applicants are asked how their involvement in local, state and even national organizations impact on Des Plaines. Do their commercial or image marketing efforts make prominent mention of Des Plaines?

"These awards recognize that a company is part of the total fabric of the community" said Jack Klaus, Executive Director of the EDC. "Jobs, tax revenues, working conditions, sense of community, community spirit — they're all an important part of the weave. The awards also recognize that pound-for-pound, the contributions of small businesses can be as significant as the largest."

Judging this year's entries were Dr. Thomas Ten-Hoeve, president of Oakton Community College in Des Plaines; Mike Woelffer, director of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs; and Lynn Adkins, Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Dun's Business Month.

The Economic Development Commission was created in 1982 by Des Plaines Mayor John Seitz, to create a favorable climate for new and improved Job opportunities by encouraging the development of business, industry and commerce within the City.

Municipalities interested in setting up similar awards programs may contact the EDC office at 1420 Miner Street, Des Plaines, Illinois 60016, for a copy of the entry form. •

Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / Febuary 1986