Mike Tegge: A Businessman Who Cares

Welcome to our new weekly feature Wonderful Wednesday. Every Wednesday Naperville Patch will introduce you to someone doing great things in the community. Do you know someone who deserves the spotlight? Contact Local Editor Mary Ann Lopez at maryl@patch.com. 

Several local residents are being honored by The Education Center of Developmental Resources in November for their work on behalf of children and families. This year's Business Partner Award goes to Mike Tegge. The following information was provided by The Education Center.

When Mike Tegge became general manager of almost two years ago, one of his goals was to establish ways the car dealership could give back to the community.

Through his leadership, the company started the Naperville Community Care Program and carefully selected three local charities — , The Education Center, and — to support through regular fund-raisers.

Redirecting part of the advertising budget, the dealership hosts frequent, week-long, charity test-drive events and donates $50 per test drive to the local charities.

To date, Mercedes Benz of Naperville has given approximately $28,000 to local not-for-profit groups. Tegge has also dedicated a wall in the dealership’s waiting room to feature the logo of the Naperville Community Care Program and letters from local nonprofits. The staff is very supportive of the company’s efforts, and everyone is knowledgeable about the charities the dealership supports.

“One of our goals is to create awareness about these charities. We have a lot of foot traffic in the store, and many of our visitors are business people. We hope this inspires the idea that their business could do something to help the community, too.” Tegge said, adding, “Naperville is a huge town, but it is really a small community. There are a lot of people in Naperville who give back. If you make people aware of things, that’s all it takes. It’s pretty cool!”