“The Mountains are calling, and I must go.” –John Muir
This is my farewell article as the Director of Government Affairs at the NACC. After living in Naperville for 20 years, I am relocating to the Western North Carolina Mountains to work full-time in real estate. This decision brings with it myriad sentimentality and gratitude.
First off, I would like to thank Positively Naperville Publisher Stephanie Penick for providing the NACC with this media platform in print and online to share topics impacting our business community. Always with a camera in hand, Stephanie is a known figure around our community. In a recent conversation with her, I learned that Positivity Naperville was launched during the 2001 Last Fling, in part, to showcase our local businesses during our iconic festival. Thank you, Stephanie, and Positively Naperville, for your commitment to our business community and our community as a whole!
The NACC is proud to work in concert with many great organizations that support our thriving business community. The Naperville Development Partnership, NDP, headed by Christine Jeffries does a remarkable job of bringing new businesses to Naperville. Under the NDP umbrella is Dine Naperville, promoter of our local restaurants, and the Naperville Convention and Visitors Bureau, NCVB, that does a masterful job of bringing events to our area. Visitors fill our hotels and, as a result, increase foot traffic to our other local businesses.
The Downtown Naperville Alliance, directed by Danielle Tufano, does a great job of shepherding the success of our downtown businesses, through special events, orchestrating the sale of Downtown Gift Cards and being a collective voice for downtown businesses at City Council.
Our business community contributes mightily to our local tax base. Case in point, Naperville boasts of the highest retail tax revenues outside of Chicago which offsets the need to increase property taxes to fund city operations. Furthermore, as our businesses succeed, they support our local nonprofits through sponsorships, in-kind donations, hosting events, volunteerism, etc.
Our community thrives when our local business community thrives.
As I wrap up, with my plans to move to the Blue Ridge Mountains, I’m hopeful you’ll continue to support Naperville businesses by shopping locally and passing business-friendly policies to ensure their continued success.
