Bureau Bits

DuPage CVB Welcomes Two Interns

Please join us in welcoming Heather Desmond, a senior at North Central College majoring in Communications. Heather is working as the bureau's marketing intern through early September. Also joining us is Alex Similton, who is finishing his degree in Tourism Management at Indiana University. Alex will be working as a sales intern through early October.

DuPage CVB Celebrates 20th Anniversary

The DuPage Convention & Visitors Bureau is celebrating its 20th year as a state-certified CVB! Members, partners and friends will be invited to celebrate this milestone at our 20th Anniversary Annual Meeting & Luncheon on Friday, October 2nd. More details will be forthcoming.

DuPage Meeting Planners Guide Being Updated

DuPage CVB’s annual Meeting Planners Guide will be printed in collaboration with Midwest Meetings magazine in September. Members with meeting space will be listed in the guide and are being asked to verify their listings by July 8.

Advertising in the Meeting Planners Guide is a great way to get your name out to over 33,000 meeting and event planners. Contact Steve Van Maanen at Midwest Meetings by email or by calling 800-288-8510 to reserve your ad space before it's too  late! The advertising deadline is July 10.

2009 DuPage Summer Travel Campaign

DuPage CVB recently launched its newest campaign, Discover DuPage This Summer! Click on the image at the right to view the Summer iBook brochure. The brochure is being distributed as an insert in the July edition of Chicago Windy City Guide, as well as an advertising fulfillment piece along with the 2009 DuPage Savings Card, offering valuable discounts at participating restaurants and area attractions. Request your Summer brochures and Savings Cards by contacting Tori Goodheart. 

DuPage Dining Promotion

Seventeen member restaurants are participating in the current DuPage Dining promotion, which offers a $20 gift card to anyone who books overnight accommodations through www.discoverdupage.com. Dining cards are also being used as incentives for local and regional meeting planners.

Nominate a Colleague or a Business!

The DuPage CVB's Annual Awards Program recognizes individuals and businesses for their outstanding contributions to the hospitality industry. Nomination forms have been mailed to all members and partners. Download a nomination form, and take a moment to nominate a colleague or organization whose efforts you believe have been exceptional in one of the four award categories. Winners will be recognized at the Bureau’s Annual Meeting on October 2nd.

Sales Team Spotlight

The DuPage CVB Sales team will hold their quarterly Hotel Committee Meeting at 3 pm on Thursday, July 30. The meeting will be hosted by Hilton Chicago Indian Lakes Resort. A representative from the Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) will offer tips on how businesses can capture the interest of student groups. Please RSVP to Shawne Washington if you plan to attend this meeting.

Upcoming DuPage CVB Tradeshow Representation:

• Fraternity Executives Association Annual Meeting: July 8-11; New Orleans, Louisiana
• Meeting Planners International/World Education Congress: July 11-14; Salt Lake City, Utah

Bureau Supports Back-to-School Program

The DuPage County Health Department is coordinating a Back-to-School Fair, scheduled for August 5th, that will provide hygiene education and kits to low-income children in DuPage County. DuPage CVB is asking its hotel members and others to contribute to this worthwhile cause, which could positively impact over 1,500 children in our area. Please consider donating soap, shampoo or other skin care products to the program. All donations will be picked up the week of July 20. Please contact Patty Clark, AmeriCorps Member, at pclark@dupagehealth.org to coordinate your donation and pick-up.

Featured Members

New Member

• Chefwear, Inc.

Member Highlights & Updates 

Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse was selected one of America's 15 Best Food Stops in the Wall Street Journal, which named Harry's Chicken Vesuvio, “…the best without a doubt.”  Holy Cow! Congratulations!

Member Events & Special Offers

Be a life saver! Desert Rose Design is hosting a blood drive through LifeSource, a non-profit organization that distributes 500,000 blood products annually to 60 area hospitals. Join them in helping end the current blood supply shortage. By providing one whole blood donation, you can save up to three lives!

For a limited time, dine at participating Oakbrook Center restaurants and receive a $20 General Growth Properties (GGP) Mall gift card with your receipts of $50 or more. Visit the Center's web site for details, terms and conditions. Offer expires July 17, 2009.

Alberto's Restaurant at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in Carol Stream is now offering an Italian Sunday Brunch. From 10 am to 2 pm, you'll enjoy a great variety of traditional brunch fare, along with Italian specialties, including Antipasto Classico, Authentic Italian breads and pastries, and much more!

Enjoy a free ice cream sundae with do-it-yourself toppings during Settlement Sundays in July and August (except July 12) at Naper Settlement. Admission to the historic museum village includes the free sundaes and a variety of hands-on, family-friendly activities and presentations during the Settlement’s open hours of 1 to 4 pm. See high-flying Frisbee dogs on July 26 and August 16.

Attention golfers! Come out and support Cosley Zoo, a facility of the Wheaton Park District, by participating in the 26th Annual Cosley Classic Golf Outing. The event will take place at Arrowhead Golf Club on Monday, August 3.

Don't miss "Worldwide Agates," a special exhibit at Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, on display now through August 31. Agates are among the most marvelous and varied gems. They exhibit an array of patterns and colors that no other gemstone can match. Each individual agate is unique in color and design. They have long been fashioned into jewelry, charms, seals, carvings, weapons, bookends and more.

Don't miss Dinosaurs Alive! at Brookfield Zoo. This new interactive exhibit runs through October and includes 18 life-size, animated, roaring dinosaurs in an outdoor “Jurassic” setting. Dinosaurs range from 10-foot-tall “babies” to 30-foot-long carnivores. Exhibit includes the world’s largest animatronic dinosaur, on display in Roosevelt Fountain.

Visit the DuPage CVB Events Calendar for a more complete list of exciting events in and around DuPage.