When President Clinton, 50 governors, 150 mayors and three former presidents gather in Philadelphia for a “Summit for America’s Future” April 25-30, a Chicago-area company will arrange for 75 limousines to transport them in style.
The contract is the second that AirComm Worldwide Limousine, based in southwest suburban Worth, has secured from the White House in the last four months.
The firm provided 180 vehicles for dignitaries and celebrities who attended Clinton’s second inauguration in Washington, D.C., in January.
AirComm also handled limo requirements for 1994 World Cup soccer matches played in Boston and Orlando.
“That was our first big job,” says company President Timothy Crockett, 32, who founded the firm nearly five years ago.
“Unfortunately, we were only able to get a tiny bit of the Democratic convention business in Chicago last summer and little of the World Cup business. Local operators had that sewed up.”
The company operates much like the FTD flower-delivery service. It takes reservations through a toll-free telephone number from customers throughout the U.S. and Canada and relays them by computer to a network of local limo firms.
“We don’t have our own fleet,” Crockett says. “That would be a violation of our agreements with the local operators. The only limousine we have is the one I use to call on customers.”
Crockett says he got the idea for the business while flying to New York.
“There were telephones on the plane, but no way to arrange contracts at the other end,” he says. “I got to thinking about what kind of phone-generated service was needed and settled on arranging local airport and ground transportation services for corporate and government clients. Then I put together some investors to start the company.”
He spent the next three years calling on local limousine providers and inspecting their fleets. Crockett says the firms that joined the network had to sign a 22-page contract and agree to adhere to a 42-page standards manual prepared by the firm.
His next big assignment after Philadelphia, Crockett says, will be July’s G-7 conference of world finance officials in Denver.
Crockett says he also is thinking about extending the network overseas.
Building a merger: Although the marriage of Cotter & Co. and ServiStar Coast to Coast Corp. won’t take effect officially until July 1, the hardware chains have begun taking steps toward completing their union. About 40 ServiStar employees, including 16 officers, will move from Butler, Pa., to the merged firm’s headquarters in Chicago; some already are looking for homes in this area. The new privately held firm, to be known as TruServ Corp., will be headed by Dan Cotter, who was president and CEO of Cotter & Co., which serves 8,400 True Value hardware stores. He becomes chairman and CEO of the merged company. Paul Pentz, president and CEO of ServiStar, will be president and chief operating officer of TruServ.
Electronic highway: Continental Air Transport, which operates the Airport Express buses to Chicago’s two major airports, is taking to the information superhighway. The firm has established a site on the World Wide Web, giving information on its shuttle service, fares, charters, convention services and tips for sightseeing in Chicago. It also links to airport travel information in other cities.
Business beat: Southern Illinois University is forming an Institute for Insurance Ethics with a private grant of $300,000 through the Illinois Department of Insurance. The Institute will be run by the University’s Katie School of Insurance at Normal. State insurance director Mark Boozell will be one of its voting board members.
Keller Graduate School of Management plans to offer a master’s degree program in telecommunications management to meet an exploding demand in that field. Classes start April 14.
James Brady, who was wounded while serving as President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary, will receive a Public Service Award from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce at its annual Crime Prevention Awards luncheon May 2.
Harold P. O’Connell Jr., former chairman of Mid-America National Bank, joined Vogel Consulting Group, a tax and business advisory firm in Brookfield, Wis. Mid-America Bank was sold to Associated Bank of Chicago in 1996.
Memo pad: Former Chicagoan Peter G. Peterson will pose the “trillion-dollar question” regarding the outlook for Social Security, Medicare and other government entitlement programs when he speaks to the Institute of International Education here May 13. Peterson is chairman of the Blackstone Group, a New York investment firm.
