2012: Tim West

On Friday, May 18, 2012 the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce will host the fifteenth installment of our Small Business of the Year Awards. The gala ceremony allows us to recognize the outstanding small businesses in our community, and pay tribute to someone’s commitment to our community with the Lifetime Achievement Award. We are deeply honored and proud to announce that our 2012 recipient is Naperville Sun columnist, Tim West.

Officially, the Chamber gives this award to a business and civic leader for their commitment to Naperville’s business community, excellence in business stewardship, contributions to the region’s quality of life, and leadership in support of economic progress. Tim West exceeds the mark in every category.

Tim has been working at the Naperville Sun since 1973 and held a variety of positions, including reporter, photographer, associate editor, managing editor and viewpoint editor – a post he holds today. Over the years, his work and dedication to journalism has been recognized with numerous statewide and professional awards.

More important than all of those awards though, is the fact that Tim has influenced opinions as a respected columnist and championed Naperville’s growth and transformation. For nearly 40 years, his coverage, columns and opinions have helped shape decisions made by the City Council, business leaders and residents.

In typical fashion when I told Tim he has been selected as this year’s recipient he offered a joke, “You sure you have the right Tim West?” Tim quickly returned the favor and offered the following praise, “As a journalist, I’ve always had a great deal of respect for the Chamber and have enjoyed seeing it grow over the years to become one of the premier Chambers in the United States.”

The respect has always been reciprocated and everyone in the Chamber and community respects Tim West. The Chamber hasn’t always agreed with Tim and I know he hasn’t always agreed with our positions, but we’ve enjoyed our exchange of ideas and viewpoints. Tim even generously provides the Chamber with the opportunity to contribute our thoughts in the opinion pages of the Sun.

Tim is committed to the idea that a free and vibrant press, combined with the input and thoughts of a variety of decision makers, creates positive outcomes for the community. No one person or group has all the answers and Tim, along with the Naperville Sun, will continue to be a forum for debate about our community’s future.

In an economy and society where politics and discourse over issues of the day are fought in increments of 140 characters, shouting matches on cable news programs or how many fans or likes a position has, having a public servant and devoted newsman like Tim is a rare find and true community asset.

Naperville has been blessed with Tim’s service and dedication to the betterment of our community and we look forward to his continued contributions. I was clear with Tim that he can’t coast just because he’s received this honor. As our community confronts today’s challenges, we need Tim and the Sun to continue their journalist works and be a source of community dialogue.

We’re looking forward to Tim’s remarks at the event, he may even dabble in the history of Tudor-Stuart England – he once taught courses on the subject – but we’re sure he will reflect on the past, present and future of Naperville, and share some fun stories from the archives.