ABC100

Legacy of Service

Since receiving its Charter as one of the earliest Chapters of the National Association of American Business Clubs, Springfield ABC has woven a rich Legacy of Service to the Springfield Community.

Here are just a very few highlights.

First Contribution Made Just Three Months In

From the earliest days of its existence, service to others has been at the forefront of the organizing principles of the American Business Club of Springfield. In fact, within the first eight weeks of its existence, Club Members voted to support the Springfield American Legion Fund by sharing 20% of the proceeds from an ABC-sponsored appearance of the “World Fliers” who had been the first to circumnavigate the globe by air in 1924. Although the total donation went unreported, news accounts shared that a “Large Audience…filled the Elks club auditorium” for the event.

On that same day, in what could be considered the first edition of our Charities Committee, ABC donated $50 (about $900 today) to local efforts to support relief programs of the American Red Cross after tornados tore through Southern Illinois, killing hundreds. The Club was the first outside donor to contribute to an Emergency Relief Fund established by the Illinois State Register.

70 Years at the Grandstand

“President [Charles W.] Cooper called a special meeting of the Board of governors to convene at 8:30 p.m., March 22, 1954, in his office located in the Reisch Building…,” and the future of the fund-raising efforts of the American Business Club forever were changed.

President Cooper opened that meeting by informing the Board that Vice President Garrett Phillips and Secretary Frank Whitney had conversed with Mr. Strother Jones, Manager of the Illinois State Fair, regarding the possibility of the Club being given the concessions for the Grandstand and Coliseum for the 1954 Illinois State Fair. At that meeting, Robert Hatcher moved that the Project Committee be empowered to “make the necessary arrangements to lease the… concessions, and that the Club officers be authorized to execute the necessary contract….”

The motion was seconded by Charles Delano and passed by a vote of nine to one. It was not recorded who the lone dissenter was, but in retrospect, it looks like the other nine made a pretty good call.

ByJune, a contract was negotiated and signed and plans were underway to include other Ambucs chapters in staffing the operation. All chapters in the 5th District were invited to participate, and eventually, Ambucs from Decatur, Champaign-Urbana, Danville, and Quincy got involved. In fact, 28 out of the 32 members of the then newly-formed Quincy chapter helped out.

Of the local members, it was reported that 110 showed up at one time or another during the Fair for work. Phillips, who had taken over as the first of what we now know as the Grandstand Chairs, indicated that he “was gratified at the excellent cooperation he received from these members of the Club.”

Statistics from the first year showed that ABC members sold 10,320 hot dogs, 110,400 bottles of pop, and 4,000 dozen ice cream bars. Gross sales were $18,500, of which the Club netted $6,000. Of that, the other chapters split $1,500 and $1,000 was set aside to be given to the next two ABC chapters to be formed in Illinois. These funds were to be given in the name of the new chapter for “crippled children work.” The local chapter gave $500 to the March of Dimes Emergency Fund and held the balance for future charitable donations, a practice proudly continued today.

Past Acts of the Fair

20 Years of ISF Admissions

Early in the summer of 2003, Mark Kolaz, the newly-named Manager of the Illinois State Fair approached ABC President Kevin Lust about a new opportunity for the Club to contribute to the Fair—and to increase our own contributions to the community. Fair staff was not satisfied with their current vendor who had been managing gate admissions and parking for several years and thought that we might be interested. We told them we weren’t.

A few weeks later, Kolaz asked again, and we told him “no” again. Fortunately for us he was persistent and, after his third request, we told him we would look at it. We did and after multiple conversations and much discussion, Lust and Grandstand Chair Rob Briney reported the results of a meeting with State Fair staff: “The bottom line is that Parking is ours for next year, pending our ability to reach a final agreement on the numbers, and we should be working with all due haste to prepare to take on this responsibility.”

In November, ABC’s internal newsletter, The ABSeer,announced:

SPECIAL LUNCH CALLED TO DISCUSS ABC's FUTURE AT THE FAIR

“We will suspend our usual scintillating luncheon programming this week to hold a special meeting for all members to discuss our new opportunities to generate charity dollars at the Illinois State Fair. You've probably already heard that we have the chance to take over parking at the Fair next year and we'd like all members to have the chance to hear about that proposal, offer their insights, and help the Board of Governors decide if we should make our final commitment to this project.”

That Lunch went well enough that we decided to proceed. At the 2004 Illinois State Fair, despite more than a few missteps, volunteers from 26 different local charities were staffing the gates, selling admission tickets and directing paid parking, all overseen by ABC members. Chairs that first year included Brandon Rebbe, Dennis Gullo, and Kevin Lust, and dozens of members stepped up when we realized the magnitude of the project. To those 26 charter groups—several of whom are still volunteering today—ABC donated over $55,000. Twenty years later, we welcomed over 60 groups and made donations in excess of $104,000. All told, the Admissions project has allowed ABC to make over $1.9 million in charitable contributions. Thanks, Mark!

ABC Family Park Called “A Local Victory for the Physically Challenged”

In his first correspondence to the Club’s membership as he took office in July of 1993, new President J.P. McClernon declared that he and the other officers were “planning a great year.” Among those grand plans rested this gem:

“Our second major project is to construct a handicap park similar to Pathway Park in Jacksonville, Illinois. Although details are still sketchy, the park will be 100% handicap accessible and offer jungle gyms, rides, etc., for both handicapped and non-handicapped children [sic]. We hope to make a formal announcement during Spring 1994.”

Not only did they make a formal announcement but, as a result of concerted efforts by ABC project Co-Chairs Joe Aiello and Chris Butler, park designer Bill Prather along with Martin Engineering, and attorney Randy Segatto, the American Business Club and officials from the Illinois State Fair and Department of Agriculture broke ground for the park on October 29, 1994, thirty years ago.

The State Journal Register reported that “the new playground is designed to be accessible to all children—particularly those who rely on crutches, wheelchairs and walkers,” and would cost between $125,000 and $150,000 to build. Expected to take three years to complete, the new park was replacing an “antiquated” playground between the giant slide and what now is the Village of Cultures.

ABC Member and long-time ABSeer editor Bob Bensko had a 16-year-old son at the time who had muscular dystrophy. He summed up the value of the new project by saying, “At a place like this, all five of our kids can play together with no worries.”

The planned playground was to include an adventure house, a fort, an earth slide, stepping stumps, arch climbers, swings, balance beams, wooden platforms and even a circular seating area for adults. Co-chair Joe Aiello said, “A park of this nature will only broaden our focus. This will give us a legacy, something in the name of the Club, that will be here for many years.”

“Everybody Rides”

There are some things that everyone can believe in. In the American Business Club, we believe the fun and freedom of riding your own bicycle is something everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy. People who are unable to operate a traditional bike can now share this experience, thanks to the Amtryke therapeutic tricycle.

These specially engineered tricycles are designed to accommodate riders of all ages and a myriad of physical and/or developmental challenges. We like to say that the Amtryke Adaptive Tricycle program is about abilities rather than disabilities. The Springfield chapter of the AMBUCS gives away dozens of Amtrykes to area children and veterans each year. Recipients are fitted by their Physical Therapists and the attachments and features of each Amtryke are tailored to their own unique profile. ABC orders the Amtrykes from our national supplier, puts together the finished product, and delivers them at no cost to our new riders.

ABC has delivered hundreds of Amtrykes worth tens of thousands of dollars since their local program began over 20 years ago. You will see the Club’s Mobile Amtryke Trailer around town as Club Members deliver their next round of Amtrykes to the newest independent, happy rider.

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