Hereschicago.com Founder Jim Grillo, CMP to Accept the Kathy Osterman Award

June 4, 2012 - PRLog -- For Grillo, it’s about making connections. Known around the hospitality community as “the LinkedIn of the Chicago meetings and events industry,” “the Mayor” and “the most famous person you never heard of,” Grillo attributes much of his success to a foundation of helping others and sharing a true love for Chicago’s events community. For Meeting Professionals International – Chicago Area Chapter (MPI-CAC), it was this leader’s outstanding contributions to elevating public awareness of the meetings industry and his heartfelt passion that made Grillo the choice for this award.

Hereschicago.com (http://www.Hereschicago.com), the acclaimed online resource guide for the meeting and event industry, announced today that its president and founder, Jim Grillo, CMP has been named to receive the Meeting Professional International-Chicago Area Chapter’s (MPI-CAC) 2011-2012 Kathy Osterman Industry Award.  The award will be bestowed to Grillo for his contributions as a seasoned leader who has brought a heartfelt passion to the meetings industry and contributed to the public’s awareness of the meetings industry. This honor was first bestowed in 1993 to its namesake Kathy Osterman, a dynamic public servant known for incredible events that brought diverse groups together and raised awareness of community issues making Chicago a great community.  Since then, the award’s recipients include such notables as Gerald Roper (1997); Janet Davies (2003); Deborah Sexton (2006); Chicago 2016 Committee (2010); and most recently, Mayer Richard M. and Maggie Daley (2011).

Grillo receives this honor four years after receiving the 2009 MPI-CAC Hall of Fame Award, which recognized Grillo for his outstanding contributions to awareness, professionalism and growth of the meetings industry.  This MPI-CAC award follows a long list of industry awards bestowed upon Grillo and HeresChicago.com including the Illinois Meetings & Events magazine’s “Supplier Hall of Fame” Award 2008; the Alternate Media/News “Emmy Award” 2008; Red Carpet Concierge’s “Outstanding Chicago Meeting Professional” 2010; and HSMAI Illinois’ “Networker of the Year” 2011.

Grillo stated, “It’s a true honor - and certainly a bit humbling - to be associated with the list of recipients who have received this award before me. With this honor, I’ll strive to live up to the meaning of this award in Kathy Osterman’s memory. To me, this means continuing my labor of love as an advocate of Chicago, the best city in the world, and providing awareness for the Chicago meetings and events industry.”

He continued, “Of course I find satisfaction through my business of connecting  organizations. It’s even more gratifying for me to be in a position to create awareness of our industry contributions to the economy through volunteering for community and industry events and helping newcomers and students make connections. I’ve found that each of us can help grow our profession and industry by helping others achieve their goals - starting with reaching out to the classrooms.”  

Current MPI-CAC president, Char Shada of Experient stated, “I’m thrilled that the MPI-CAC Chapter members selected Jim Grillo to receive this prestigious award. For many years, he’s worked tirelessly to elevate the meetings industry while serving our chapter in numerous leadership capacities along the way. Jim is a long-time colleague, a mentor and a true friend who has positively influenced my life and the lives of countless others. We applaud Jim for his contributions to the meetings community in Chicago and beyond.”  

Members of MPI-CAC will gather to honor Grillo and additional 2012 award recipients during its Annual Awards Recognition Gala from 5:00pm to 9:30pm on June 5, 2012 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications. The ceremony will include several additional Chapter awards designed to recognize the talents, skills, accomplishments, and dedication of select members and industry colleagues.  

To contact Jim Grillo at Hereschicago.com call 630.916.8000 ext. 3 or visit http://www.Hereschicago.com.   For additional information on the MPI-CAC’s Annual Awards Recognition Gala and a complete event schedule, visit www.mpi-cac.org.