Jim Michels was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame

EEI is Recognized with a Merit Award from ACEC-IL

March 9, 2007 – Elburn resident, James Michels, P.E., was inducted into the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame. As CEO of Engineering Enterprises, Inc. (EEI), Jim was recognized for his entrepreneurial achievements and making a lasting impact on Chicago`s business landscape. The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago hosted the event at the Chicago Hilton and Towers.

“Supporting and recognizing local entrepreneurs is extremely important if we want to continue increasing and enhancing the caliber of Chicago`s business leaders,” said Gerry Hills, executive director of the Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and Coleman Professor of Entrepreneurship at the UIC College of Business Administration. “The members of the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame are the best examples of the types of entrepreneurs who are innovative and are leading the Chicago region.”

Jim founded EEI in 1974 in Elburn, Illinois with two employees – himself and his wife, Carole. EEI is a civil engineering and land surveying firm, which serves numerous municipalities in Illinois providing communities with improved infrastructure and community residents with a better way of life. EEI currently has two offices serving public and private sector clients throughout northern Illinois. Today, the company has 70 employees and is headquartered in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

“I`m excited to receive this recognition, but my clients have given me the opportunity, my associates have provided the resources and my family has provided the encouragement for me to succeed,” commented Jim. “The Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies and the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame does a tremendous job in recognizing great Chicago business leaders and this distinguished honor will only add to EEI`s growing entrepreneurial spirit and business success.”

He has been honored with numerous industry awards, including Civil Engineer of the Year of the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2003 and the 2004 Edmund Friedman Professional Recognition Award of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Since 1985, the Chicago Area Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame has recognized innovative business leaders in Chicago`s seven-county area. Each year, the Hall of Fame inducts distinguished entrepreneurs who have demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and business talent by founding or growing their respective business.

Past inductees include: Robert J. Abt of Abt Electronics; John W. Baird of Baird & Warner; Robert W. Galvin of Motorola; Michael P. Krasny of CDW Computer Centers, Inc.; Stuart R. Paddock, Jr. of Paddock Publications (Daily Herald); Gordon Segal of Crate & Barrel; and Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter`s.