The future of the Evanston Small Business Association — the city’s only grassroots business group — is uncertain after the group’s president said Monday he will leave Evanston by the end of the summer.
Troy Thiel, who has been president of the association since its inception in the late ’90s, said he plans to move to Madison, Wis.
Thiel and the other members of the board of directors are unsure of the group’s future direction, but Thiel said this will be addressed at the annual meeting in mid-June.
One option for the association would be to integrate with the Evanston Chamber of Commerce, Thiel said.
“A lot of our goals are similar in purpose,” he said. “We could join up as a subsidiary of the chamber’s small business community.”
Chamber President-elect Dick Peach, who co-founded the small business association, said this was part of the association’s plan from the beginning.
“We wanted to create enough groundswell to get the attention and eventually just become part of the same package (with the chamber),” Peach said. “I think we’ve accomplished that for the most part.”
Peach also pointed to administrative benefits that the chamber could offer.
“(The association) needs the infrastructure that the chamber brings,” he said. “And my being president of the chamber helps. … (The small business association) will have a home away from home right here.”
Over the past year, one of the the association’s successes has been as a go-between for Northwestern and the business community, Thiel said.
“What we’ve done is just the tip of the iceberg in showing how the university and community can come together on new goals,” he said.
These goals included working closely with Associated Student Government leaders to attract new businesses to participate in the WildCARD Advantage program. Thiel also advocated improving the program’s Web site so students can more easily see which businesses offer discounts.
Jane Lee worked closely with Thiel and the association over the past year as the ASG Evanston business liaison. Lee, now ASG’s external relations chairwoman, said she regrets that Thiel is moving, but will still work with other Evanston groups to promote closer relations.
“He’s been a really great advocate to work with,” said Lee, a Weinberg sophomore. “Although the state of (the association) is uncertain, (ASG) will work to ensure the business community has more of a connection with NU.”
Though the association recently has worked closely with students, it originally was set up to serve as a forum for small-business interests.
“There was no business organization for existing small businesses, so we set up this sort of grassroots advocacy organization,” Thiel said. “In the last couple of years we’ve helped to catalyze these businesses, and there has been a lot of improvement in how they do what they do.”
Many members of the business community said they will miss Thiel’s passion for his work.
“I hope Madison is ready for him,” Peach said. “His willingness to step up and do a lot of things will be missed in this town.”
