1st Rotary Club of Northbrook Business Spotlight Award Granted
Congratulations to Frank Karkazis of FGK Services Inc. the recipient of the first Rotary Club of Northbrook Business Spotlight Award for providing community involvement that exemplifies our motto - Service Above Self!
Here is a little background on the business from a recent chamber newsletter, “Frank Karkazis, owner of FGK Services Inc., built his business by focusing on essential cleaning and maintenance services for his commercial clients. “I felt that I will always be in business if I provide services that people need, instead of want,” he notes. In 2020, he took that philosophy to the next level by introducing comprehensive COVID disinfection services.
FGK’s pivot to specialized disinfection began in the spring, when Frank saw an urgent theme emerging in conversations within industry discussion groups: janitorial company owners on the east coast were desperately dealing with quickly rising infection occurrences at their clients. He started looking for strategies that would enable his clients to safely stay open. “I really was motivated by fear;” says Frank — fear of the devastating effects of the pandemic on both his clients’ businesses and, by extension, his own.
By May, Frank had completed a certification course in COVID disinfection and invested in specialized spraying equipment, EPA-approved cleaning products, and specialized PPE for his employees. FGK began offering COVID disinfection to supplement the regular nightly anti-virus cleaning protocols. Demand for the service exploded with both existing and new clients. In 2020, FGK’s customer base and revenue doubled and the company’s workforce increased from 19 to 48 employees.”
The heart of Rotary – Service Above Self – is found all around us. Our Vocational Committee: David Masters, Kate Hall, Peter Herman, and Jon Miller created the Rotary Business Spotlight Award. The goal of the award is to put a “spotlight” on a local business and or its owner or executive for its commitment to giving back to the community.
We witness this ‘giving back’ each time we look for sponsors and supporters for our various programs. Still there are so many more we are not aware of. The committee decided to make a commitment for our club to put a spotlight on these special community leaders!
They searched out several organizations based on evidence of community involvement and support that exemplify the Rotary ideal of “Service Above Self”.
Last week their mission was realized when at our regular Rotary meeting, Frank Karkazis of FGK Services Inc. was awarded our first Rotary Club of Northbrook Business Spotlight Award. The award included a Paul Harris Fellowship and a plaque. If you were not on the zoom – please watch our recording of the event to hear how Frank shared his Rotary-like passion for being a community supporter and sponsor for organizations like the North Suburban YMCA; Glenkirk; the Northfield Township Food Pantry; and Wesley Child Care Center.
He has hired individuals with disabilities through Glenkirk’s employment referral program and is a volunteer for an Opioid Awareness organization.
During the pandemic, the company performed disinfection services at no charge for groups and families who could not afford to pay, proving service above self is all around us!
Photo credits North Suburban YMCA & FGK Services Inc.
Do you shop? Use Amazon or Amazon Prime? Like to buy from fellow Rotarians? If you do – you can help support our club and Rotary!
How? Mitch discovered that by using the link smile.amazon.com AND selecting our Rotary Charitable Foundation of Northbrook our Rotary club will receive .05% of all sale transactions you make through that link. AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. Make sure that charity is Rotary Charitable Foundation of Northbrook. AmazonSmile is available at smile.amazon.com on your web browser and can be activated in the Amazon Shopping app for iOS and Android phones.
When you shop at AmazonSmile, AmazonSmile will donate 0.5% of your eligible purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. If you haven’t signed up yet it’s easy: go to smile.amazon.com log on, create and activate an account. When a you first go on the website, make sure to select: Rotary Charitable Foundation of Northbrook
JOIN US SATURDAY FOR THE LIVESTREAM OF OUR NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS FUNDRAISER
The Rotary Club of Northbrook will host a Neighbors Helping Neighbors [NHN] Reverse Raffle that will be live streamed from the NSYMCA on March 13, 2021 at 6:30 pm. Tickets are no longer available - but donations are accepted. We also hope our club members will recah out to support and thank our sponsors who generously supported this effort!
Mark Your Calendars!
Join us on March 13th for the raffle drawing, livestreaming from the North Suburban YMCA beginning at 6:30 pm.
Click the link below to watch the drawing on the 13th.
GLOBAL SPONSOR: The First Bank of Highland Park; COMMUNITY SUPPORTER: Saf-T-Gard; CLUB SUPPORTERS: Carlos & Sandy Früm; Quick Kill Exterminating; Sunset Foods; Northbrook Bank & Trust Company; Fields Auto Group; Miller Cooper & Co., Ltd.; Good Earth Lighting; Northern Weathermakers; Northbrook Ace Hardware; In-Kind Supporters: North Suburban YMCA; Northbrook Herald - a Daily Herald Publication.
Our raffle will be live-streamed from the North Suburban YMCA on Saturday, March 13th so everyone can take-part and virtually participate in the fun! Three $100 prizes will be drawn before the Grand Prize which is a 50/50 split up to $5,000! There are links to purchase tickets on the homepage of NorthbrookRotary.org or ask a local Rotarian for details.
