It was an honor for Eli’s Cheesecake, together with Midwest Living Magazine, to be the sponsor of the luncheon at the historic Palmer House honoring the 20th Anniversary of the Illinois Tourism Alliance, which was previously known as Visit Illinois. This group supported by Jan Kostner, the Deputy Director of the Illinois Bureau of Tourism and under the daily direction of Nina Winston, assists the tourism industry in planning for the next 20 years.

Illinois Tourism Alliance Chairman, Grant Deporter, President of Haray Caray’s Restaurant Group, Holly Agra, Chairman Elect of the Alliance and President of Chicago’s First Lady and Eli’s Marc Schulman celebrate the 20th birthday of the Alliance.

A celebration in Illinois wouldn’t be complete without a giant
Eli’s Cheesecake.

Brian Craven of Eli’s get ready to serve dessert to the over 600 attendees at the Conference.


The luncheon speaker was Lisa Ford, the author of “Exceptional Customer Service.” Lisa, a popular speaker and consultant in the customer service business enthralled the audience with stories of how bad service has destroyed organizations and how organizations that are committed to “total satisfaction” have been successful and built long term relationships with their customers.