Suburban cleaning company named first Chicago Bears Small Business All-Pro

Welcome back. Sophia's Cleaning Service in the western suburbs is the first of four small business all pros of the season. It is family owned and neighborhood driven. Joining us now are co-owners and CEO Andre and Carol and Sherry Jerza with PNC Bank. I did not see your last name. It is Polish. I am a Polish person as well. Say your last name for me. Kazmierski. Okay, I didn't want to mess it up. Congratulations you two. So I want to start with you both. What kind of an honor is it for you to be here? Is it to be recognized by PNC Bank and the Chicago Bears? Growing up in Chicago, I'm a huge Bears fan. My mom would literally, I'd work in the business dropping off flyers on my bike over the summer so that, and I was basically incentivized by Bears tickets in the fall. So my mom would get me Bears tickets, work all summer. Sweet deal for her, for sure, but also it's full circle, right? Seeing her name at Soldier Field and our logo and everything, it meant the world to us. And so being a second generation, she passed in 2012 from colon cancer, and I'm just honored that Carol and I are able to live out her legacy, kind of continue her legacy and say her name every single day. It's awesome to be able to do that because people don't fade away. Yeah. So, we never forget her, which is something that I take a lot of pride in. I want to talk to you in just a second, Sherry, about this incredible program. But Carol, tell me a little bit about your business. Yeah, we do residential and commercial cleaning, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, on occasion, move-ins, move-outs, deep cleans, we do everything all around the western suburbs. And we have wonderful teams, they do a great job and they work with us for many, many years and that's the way we keep our clients for many, many years. A good, wholesome family-owned business. Yes, I love that. So Sherry, what stood out about Sophia's cleaning service to PNC Bank and the Chicago Bears? Yeah, so the Bears and PNC are focused on finding small businesses that really are making an impact in the community and also just delivering a phenomenal product or service. And Sophia's Cleaning Service is a second generation business and they've been operating for 42 years and I was reflecting on like 42 years of even like my own family history or your family history, all of the changes that happen and then all the economic changes that happen, the ebbs and flows of the economy, changing consumer demands, the introduction of technology into businesses. So in order for a business to survive that, they have to have a true entrepreneurial spirit. to be behind that business, they have to rally around it. And so I think it's really important to recognize they have a championship mindset. They have a winning service model and that's the exact type of business we like to celebrate. And they also have a phenomenal charity give back program and it really makes them quite special. Andre tell me about that. Yeah, so we started cleaning for a cause, and a portion of every single cleaning goes back to local charities in the community. We also donate to the Colon Cancer Association in my mom's name, which I'm proud to do as well. And we rally behind it. Every single quarter, we have our charities that our team actually picks for us to give back to those charities. So we've given a couple thousand dollars so far this year. Through the first two quarters and we're excited to have another record-breaking charity donation year, but that's that's how you run a business. That's how my mom taught me and I'm just so proud to be able to do that today. I mean, what a legacy for your sweet mother. I just love that. I really do Sherry. How are the people nominate these businesses? How are they discovered? Yes. So there's an application period that starts preseason. And so it is a self-application, businesses across the Chicagoland area are encouraged to go out and apply. I know we've had several businesses that have said, I won this year and I applied the previous year and didn't win. So I'd always say, look out for that and apply again. But we're really just looking for businesses to tell their story and really to tell us why they align with the Bears' strategies and core values of that championship mindset, that resiliency, everything it takes to really be a winning team, and then also businesses that are making a community impact. And so we're looking for businesses to share with us. And then the selection process is through the Chicago Bears and through community partners that we have. So there's a lot of application review, and it's a pretty neat process to ensure we get the best of the best. Well, congratulations. You two, you're in my neck of the woods, so I really appreciate that. And thank you, Sherri, for sharing the good news with us. And go Bears! Are we going all the way this year? Absolutely. Yes. Okay, good. I think that's the prediction we needed. That's the extra push.