Quincy Chamber Annual Meeting & Business Hall of Fame Inductees

QUINCY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TO INDUCT TWO INTO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME

(Quincy, Illinois) The Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce will induct two eminent leaders at their upcoming Business Hall of Fame Ceremony on Wednesday, January 18^th 2023 at 11:30 am at the Oakley Lindsey Center.  The Business Hall of Fame was started in 2006 to honor current and past business leaders, businesses & organizations, who have made important contributions to the Quincy area business community. The Quincy Area Chamber Business Hall of Fame will bring a spotlight to those that have demonstrated exceptional leadership, innovation, ethics, and vision. The leaders inducted each year into the Chamber’s Business Hall of Fame have spent their lives not only building their business but also building our community. The Class of 2023 will include Carl W. Richards, Richards Electric Company and C. David Nuessen Quincy Metal Fabricators, Inc and Mayor of Quincy 1977-1985.

“This years’ honorees exemplify excellence and have made remarkable contributions to our community on so many levels”, said Bruce Guthrie, President/CEO, Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber Hall of Fame allows us to celebrate the substantial investment of innovators, leaders and business owners whose efforts have made the Quincy community a better place.”

The Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting/Business Hall of Fame Ceremony will be on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at the Oakley Lindsey Center.  The event is open to the public.  The cost is $35 per person and includes lunch.  Reservations are required by Friday January 13, 2023, and can be made at www.quincychamber.org.

Carl W. Richards

Carl was the founder, owner, president and at the time of his death in 2004, chair of the Board of Directors of Richards Electric Motor Co.  Despite being mostly self-taught, Carl built Richards Electric Co. from a small husband-and-wife motor repair shop to a business providing quality skilled jobs for 40 or more employees.

The multifaceted business sells and repairs electrical motors from small to large. The business can repair most anything electrical, including welders, generators, cranes, and hoists, as but a few examples. With Carl’s leadership, Richards Electric Motor Co. did more than sell and repair motors.  It is Richards Electric Motor Co that helps keep businesses functioning that are dependent upon electric motors and equipment.  The business provides electrical components and panels for equipment manufactured by many of the area’s most prominent businesses.  Equipment made by Richards Electric Motor Co. is in every state as well as many locations internationally.  Richards Motor Co. is located at 2028 Quintron Way Quincy Illinois.

C.David Nuessen

David Nuessen contributed to the community with the development of  Quincy Metal Fabricators and his public service as Mayor from 1977-1985. A study was conducted in the late 1970’s to gauge the supply needs for industrial companies and found that large employers identified the need for a metal fabricator in the Quincy area. Even though he was serving as Mayor, C. David answered the call of the report and Quincy Metal Fabricators was founded in 1982 by C. David, his brother Dan, and his father.  The Nuessens opened Quincy Metal Fabricators in 1982 and was one of the first buildings to be built in the Schneidman Industrial Park.  40 years later, their ability to manufacture the most sophisticated products and exceed quality and service requirements has given Quincy Metal Fabricators a name and reputation superior to their competition.

David Nuessen’s contributions to the community are almost too numerous to measure. C. David was elected to the Adams County Board in 1972 at the age of 26 and re-elected in 1976. He was elected Mayor in 1977 at the age of 31, becoming Quincy’s youngest mayor in its history. C. David was re-elected in 1981.  After his service as Mayor, he was elected to the Quincy Public School Board and serving two years as the President of the Quincy Public School Board.  C. David served as the co-chair with Chuck Scholz on the Quincy Next Strategic Plan and advocated for its adoption.

David’s contributions to the business community are still being felt to this day. During his first election for mayor, C. David advocated for the formation of a business industrial park. Once elected, he formed a private foundation called the Great River Development Foundation which raised $715,000 to purchase land for what is now called the Schneidman Industrial Park.

Mayor Nuessen also saw the changing retail climate away from downtowns and toward malls.  He formed a committee called “Uptown Quincy Forward” with pledges from the community amounting to $400,000.  Thanks to the committee we now have the Historic Quincy Business District, aka “The District.”