Mark Groves Will Be 'Very Missed' By Buffalo Grove Chamber of Commerce

It’s been 12 years since Mark Groves accepted what he thought would be a part-time job with the Buffalo Grove Area Chamber of Commerce.

“After two weeks they said, ‘Mark, do you want to go full-time?’ And I said, ‘OK.’ So I did,” he said.

“Many of the things I did at UPS were quite applicable to my Chamber duties,” said Groves, who spent 27 years at the shipping company before retiring from its training and development department in 1999.

After putting a dozen years into his second career, as the Chamber's director of member services, Groves is preparing to retire for the second time.

“It’s been a lot of fun, very rewarding. I really love what I do at the Chamber, primarily because of the people I interact with and, most importantly, Lynne,” Groves said of Executive Director Lynne Schneider. “Lynne and I have, from the get-go, had a great working relationship.”

Groves and Schneider make up the entire Chamber office staff. They work alongside the organization's Board of Directors.

“He and I are like two jigsaw pieces that fit together,” Schneider said. My strengths and weaknesses are opposite his. We’ve just worked together really well. It’s been a well-oiled machine for 12 years.”

The two hold an informal meeting each morning to discuss upcoming events. Those meetings, Groves said, are “always, always centered on the membership. ‘Is this the right thing to do for the members? Will they benefit from it?’ With that perspective, I think the Chamber has been very successful.”

They share the same philosophy “that you treat businesses not as businesses, but you treat them as individual people. We look at the people behind the business and try to help them. If we can help them, we can help their business,” Groves said.

“I probably wouldn’t have stayed for 12 years if it weren’t for Lynne Schneider, because she is the Chamber,” Groves said.

“The Board is of the same understanding as Lynne and I in terms of doing the right thing for the membership. That makes it very rewarding to work there,” Groves said.

Membership has fluctuated between 300-400 members over the past dozen years, Groves said. The Chamber of Commerce provides opportunities for local business representatives to network, market their companies and get involved in the community.

Under Groves’ guidance, the Chamber firmly established its BG Networkers group, which meets for breakfast twice a month. More recently, the Chamber began offering free SCORE workshops.

Schneider said she and the Board of Directors, composed of elected Chamber members, will soon determine how to fill Groves’ shoes. In the meantime, she’ll hold down the fort with the support of the Board and figure out how to handle the quickly approaching Buffalo Grove Days, where Groves has historically handled the recruitment and training of volunteers for the beer tent.

“Maybe I’ll retire, too. It might be easier,” Schneider joked.

Groves will wrap up his service with the Chamber this month. After he addresses a health matter, he plans to remain active in other ways. He said he plans to step up his involvement with Toastmasters by serving as an ambassador to multiple chapters and assisting with the rollout of a new educational program.

He also plans to travel. A trip to Africa is already scheduled for next year.

And, in his less structured time in his Long Grove home, he has another task to cross off his list.

“I have a huge classical music collection that needs to be organized and cataloged,” he said. “I might even start playing my cello again.”

Do you know Mark Groves? Tell us how he's helped you and congratulate him on his retirement in the comment section below.