Celebrating the selfless efforts of individuals who live or work in Will & Grundy Counties, making our communities great
Oct. 30, 2021 A publication of
The Herald-News & Morris Herald-News Sponsored by
The Herald-News / TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
| Everyday Heroes 2
Steve Vanisko Publisher Herald-News, Morris Herald-News hand when the local not-for profit group needs assistance. For seven years, the nominations came in and we have read and enjoyed your stories. With this year’s group of thirteen recipients, we have now honored over 100 Will and Grundy County residents as Everyday Heroes. Our
2021 winners are as unique in their own way as our first group in 2015 and all those in between. Each has carved out their own niche — finding a way to improve our local community. Individually and collectively, their “others first” attitude sets them apart. Within this section you can read their stories. Similar to last year, we were not able to host an awards breakfast so we have substituted that with a video tribute where our winners share their feelings about being honored.
Lastly, programs like Everyday Heroes rely heavily on sponsorship support. We have been fortunate that CenterPoint Properties, ExxonMobil and Silver Cross Hospital have remained committed even through the twists and turns of the last two years. We are tremendously grateful for their continued support. I hope you enjoy reading about the 2021 Everyday Heroes. They, like those that were honored before them, serve as an inspiration for all of us to make our communities a better place.
THE HEROES INSIDE Megan Bugg.............................. 4 Mary Cottrell ............................ 5 John Davis ................................ 6 Fred Ferrara............................... 7 Eric Fisher.................................. 8
Eric Gallagher ........................... 9 Bethany Graman ................... 10 Chad Kodiak ............................ 11 Christy Lister............................12 Janet Palkon ............................13
Phil Rittenhouse .....................14 Tony Roy ..................................15 David Schmidt.........................15
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
Back in 2015, we launched our first Everyday Heroes campaign in Will and Grundy counties. The idea was pretty simple. We were looking to honor the people our readers interact with every day and make our area a better place to live. These were the type of folks that do all sorts of charitable work just out of the goodness of their hearts. You know, the people that donate a lot of time to their church, school or neighborhood organization, for example. Or the one’s that seem to always be the first to raise their
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EVERYDAY HEROES
Will & Grundy Counties Home to over 100 Everyday Heroes
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
EVERYDAY HEROES
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MEGAN BUGG By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent Megan Bugg has raised over $600,000 to support three different research projects focused on alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer she was diagnosed with at age 13. Now 20, the Coal City resident is currently dealing with her sixth relapse of stage 4 alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Bugg said after her initial diagnosis, 54 weeks of intense chemotherapy and radiation were over and entrance into remission, she began to read about the lack of funding for childhood cancer research. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out that only 4% of federal funding for all cancer research was dedicated to childhood cancer research,” Bugg said. She connected with and befriended other people her age who had childhood cancer. As some of them passed away, she said it motivated her to try and make a difference. “It is still amazing to me that with childhood cancer being the No. 1 cause of death by disease in children that so many people don’t pay any attention to it,” Bugg said. “It’s a nightmare, a living nightmare every day,” her father, Kent Bugg, said. “I would not wish this on anyone; that’s why we have to stop it.” When she began her fundraising journey, Bugg’s goal was to support research that would result in less toxic treatments for kids with cancer. She knew firsthand the toll the treatments took on her own body after chemotherapy, and the fact that not much progress had been made in treatments over the years. “In fact, if my dad would have had my type of cancer back when he was a kid, he would have been treated with the same chemotherapies I was treated with,” Bugg said. Bugg’s first research project she fully funded — for $214,000 — was at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. After that, the doctor put her in touch with Dr.
Charles Keller from the Children’s Cancer Therapy Development Institute in Portland, Oregon. Bugg said, “CC-TDI is doing incredible research on sarcoma cancers and once I spoke with Dr. Keller, I realized that he is our best chance to find better treatments and maybe even a cure for childhood sarcoma cancers.” She traveled to meet Keller, visited the lab and knew this was what she wanted to support. Bugg has fully funded one project for $215,000 for a drug called Entinostat and currently works to raise $233,000 to fully fund a second project focused to repurpose
existing U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs for use in the treatment of her type of cancer. “I have raised about $210,000 for this project, so I’m almost there,” Bugg said. “She’s passionate and not afraid to talk and advocate for herself. She’s created a network across the country and many generous people and organizations have stepped up,” Kent Bugg said. “She’s quiet and shy, but she found her voice.” Early in her advocacy Bugg said she met with legislative representatives in Illinois to advocate for childhood cancer research. Rep. Da-
vid Allen Welter, R-Morris, invited Bugg to the floor of the Illinois House of Representatives where she said a resolution to recognize her and the importance of funds for childhood cancer research was unanimously passed. She also spoke in front of the U.S. Capitol building at CureFest. “My friends and I will keep talking until someone finally listens,” Bugg said. His daughter wants to make a difference for other people, said Kent Bugg. “I don’t know how to express how proud I am of her.”
MARY COTTRELL
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EVERYDAY HEROES
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
Twenty-two years ago, 10-year-old Mary Cottrell began volunteering at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church Food Pantry as a thank-you for the food her single-parent household received. Cottrell’s mother, Cheryl, said after her divorce, she attended nursing school and worked, and the church brought food for the family. The church sacraments told the children to volunteer, so Cheryl encouraged her children to volunteer at the food pantry to give back. Cottrell stuck with it. “At 10 years old, I was the youngest volunteer. I stocked shelves, swept and cleaned,” Cottrell said. “I was able to walk there, it was a block away, until I turned 16 and could drive.” Cottrell kept with the food pantry all of these years because the clientele and volunteers became family to her, a close unit with whom she grew up over the past 22 years. Six years ago, Cottrell took over the title as director. Even though she has a full-time job as a social worker, she takes time each Monday to pass out food and gives her personal time during the week for behind-the-scenes work. “There isn’t a job in the pantry I haven’t done,” Cottrell said. Cottrell said the community around the pantry supports its neighbors, something she hopes remains even throughout the pandemic, which hit the area hard. She said the pantry supports 1,500 people (300-400 families per month). The needs change with the seasons, so she has to be on top of the trends when she orders food. Since she grew up near St. John’s, Cottrell understands the clients and strives to find ways to best serve them. Some do not have refrigeration because of the high electricity cost, so instead of fresh foods that can spoil quickly, she orders those clients nonperishables and offers recipes on how to use those products. During the pandemic, Cottrell said, “I had to redo the entire system eight times — it gave me heart palpitations. Some of the older volunteers left, some stayed, but they all said, ‘If we are going down, we are going down
with you, Mary.’” Two years ago, Pam Tezak became a volunteer at the food pantry after her father and former volunteer, George Block, passed away. She and her brothers filled their father’s shoes at the pantry, where she met Mary. “The girl is unbelievable. Between social work, running and buying for the food pantry, she knows all of the people by name when they come to
get food,” Tezak said. “She is handson, it’s unbelievable how this girl works.” Tezak described Cottrell as caring and compassionate. “She always goes the extra mile to help everybody. When my dad was sick, she made a point to visit him, and call my mom to see if she needed anything. She still calls periodically to see how my mom is doing.”
Cottrell said she plans to stay with the food pantry and hopes volunteers and clients continue to come to St. John’s food pantry. She hopes for the return of the volunteers who left due to the pandemic. She has a mission to keep her neighborhood family fed. “Hunger will never go away, no matter what we do,” Cottrell said. “We just hope people can continue to give back.”
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
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JOHN DAVIS By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent John Davis of Joliet reminds himself of Peter Pan. He said he never grew up — he has worked with young people almost all of his life. Davis began his career in education in Wisconsin, then Chicago, finally settling in the Joliet area. There he took a position in youth development at the University of Illinois Extension Office in Grundy County and later for Will, Grundy and Kankakee counties. He developed programs and was always a student himself as technology changed. He said he had to teach himself first, then teach the youth — at times learning together. He strived to show them how to think outside the box. “I was not only an educator, I had to be an entertainer because there are so many interests pulling these kids,” Davis said. He was involved with 4-H program and traveled the three counties for shows and fairs, which consumed many of his weekends. In 1992 when his children attended Troy schools, he was asked to help coach cross-country. Although he has never taught at the school, he has coached ever since, around 2,000 students. “I’m now getting children of kids I coached, it’s odd, they still remember me. It’s nice to see them promoting healthy lifestyles,” Davis said. “His patience, drive and his special one-of-a-kind humor are a winning combination both and off the field, resulting in 22 top finishes between boy and girl teams,” friend and former extension colleague Nancy Kuhajda said. Troy schools did not have a season in 2020, but Davis did not take the year off. Instead he went to a private school in Joliet and coached cross-country at Cathedral of St. Raymond Catholic School. He has also coached soccer and currently referees 200-300 games per season. Off the field, he hosts youth referee camps, which he said gives participants life lessons on how to be a leader, stay physically fit, focus and stick to decisions. “As a coach, he really wants kids to excel, not only in sports, but in life,” Kuhajda said. He has been involved with youth
projects with the United Way of Will and Grundy counties, as well as Boy Scouts…where he set up merit badges, as he was not a camper. Davis was installed Oct. 4 as the vice president of the Joliet Kiwanis Club, which he’s been involved with off and on for a total of 30 years. In addition to sitting on the Community Action Panel at LyondellBassell in
Morris as a community advocate, he fundraises and supports the library system through the Friends of the Joliet Public Library. “I appreciate knowledge,” Davis said. “At my end of life, I’m going to come back as a cat in a library. In college on Friday nights, I would go to the library and check out more books than I could read.” Davis retired from the extension
in 2019 but has yet to slow down — on the contrary, he has plans to keep up his work with youth and volunteerism with local nonprofits. “To me its fun, it’s a fun thing to do. I think I read somewhere that service is the rent you pay for living on Earth,” Davis said. “My goal is to make three to four people’s day a little better.”
FRED FERRARA
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EVERYDAY HEROES
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
As the oldest of nine children, Fred Ferrara learned how to step up and make decisions in an organized manner. He learned not to be afraid of leadership roles, not to back away from a challenge. Perhaps that’s why his titles of chef and educator fit him well. Ferrara moved to Joliet in 1996 when he accepted a job as an instructor at Joliet Junior College. He brought with him a passion for a fundraiser, which used his talents as a chef to give back to his new community. Ferrara had previously hosted the Great Chefs Tasting Party and Auction event in Florida, where he worked before he moved to Illinois. Twenty Chicagoland restaurants and caterers now prepare samples of their favorite dishes for participants to taste and vote upon. Live and silent auctions also bring in funds alongside ticket sales to benefit the Joliet United Cerebral Palsy Center for Disability Services (UCP-CDS). “UCP-CDS was looking for a unique event to bring our community together,” UCP-CDS Executive Director Mike Hennessy said of Ferrara’s tasting event idea. Ferrara said the event also offers volunteer opportunities to the students at UCP-CDS. The students who volunteer get to meet the chefs, and if they look for employment in these restaurants, a connection has already been made. Ferrara said at times the staff from the restaurant properties see how hard the students work at the event and tell them to fill out an application. “The event helps students find connections for employment and the properties to find employees,” Ferrara said. Hennessy said this event remains the organization’s largest fundraiser, although it has been postponed due to the pandemic. Funds raised were used to support the core programs it provides to the children and adults with disabilities, along with important support to their families.
“Over $3 million has been raised over the 25-year history of our Great Chefs Tasting Party and Auction,” Hennessy said. Ferrara has been on the UCP-CDS board of directors for the past three years, something he said he wanted to tackle after he retired from Joliet Junior College. He was elected board secretary, chairs the development/ fundraising committee and serves on the bylaws committee. Ferrara said
on top of the tasting event, he also helps to fundraise for other events such as the Great American Big Wheel Race each summer at Joliet Memorial Stadium. When Ferrara arrived in Joliet, he began the Joliet chapter of the American Culinary Federation. He has held titles such as president and now currently sits on the board. He was on the JJC Culinary Advisory Board and was the Epicurean Club advisor.
“Chef Fred is a hardworking and dedicated individual who is so generous in giving of his time and talent to help others. We are so blessed to have Chef Fred involved in our organization,” Hennessy said. “It’s a great feeling — I have the knowledge, I have the ability and make the time,” Ferrara said of his volunteer work in the Joliet community.
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
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ERIC FISHER By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent As a 10-year-old, Eric Fisher volunteered at a food drive where volunteers went down a row to fill a box with food. The box was then taped up and given to the recipient. In March 2020, the need for help soared. As executive director of We Care of Grundy County, Fisher knew he could not shut down the services his community members would need most. “First we had to maintain services, keep clients, volunteers and staff safe, and I knew we could continue without missing a beat,” Fisher said. The nonprofit We Care offers clothing, food, holiday and one-time rent/mortgage assistance to Grundy County residents. It also provides classes on-site on topics of mental health, life skills and parenting as well as organizes the Pathway of Hope program with the goal of ending the cycle of crisis. The food bank moved outside, and Fisher used that assembly line method he experienced as a child to get food to clients. With those needs met, Fisher said the rent assistance became the No. 1 service, rising 140%. “A normal year we spend $40,000 to $50,000 in rent assistance, in the 2020 fiscal year, we spent $118,000,” Fisher said. Fisher said the longevity of the nonprofit — 41 years — in Grundy County helped because people knew the organization and gave generously. Local businesses such as LyondellBasell sent a large grant, but Fisher also sat down at his computer to find and apply for other grants to fulfill the large demands. “Eric figured out a way to get his clients the help they need in a time of national crisis on a very local level,” said LyondellBasell Public Relations Lead Megan Borchers. “Eric and his team are true heroes.” Borchers said Fisher was also asked to be a part of the LyondellBasell Community Advisory Panel, providing feedback from a community standpoint. The two groups also partner in manpower, food pantry assistance and mobile food distribution. “When he has a specific need, he reaches out for help,” Borchers said. After the initial crisis but still mid-pandemic, Fisher decided to
remodel the building to make it more user-friendly for clients and staff. Offices are now near the rear of the building, where clients come in to receive food and clothing. On the south side, former offices were remodeled to accommodate classes. “We want to bring back the old adage, ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime,’” Fisher said about the remodel for the life skills, ACEs Parenting and
Family to Family classes. Phil Wardlow, vice president of Grundy Area PADS, said he worked with Fisher in the #GiveGrundy group of local nonprofits, which banded together as a team to support one another. Fisher used his background in graphic design to create logos, ads, posters and more for the group. Wardlow said Fisher brings information to the group — such as difficulties about clients’ needs — in an understandable
way, allowing the team to facilitate help. Wardlow described Fisher as compassionate and passionate about his work, approachable and nonjudgmental. “He is the hub and the spokes are the nonprofits, he directs people so the person isn’t sitting out there languishing in a hopeless situation,” Wardlow said of Fisher. “I couldn’t sing Eric’s praises loud enough — he’s the go-to guy.”
ERIN GALLAGHER
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EVERYDAY HEROES
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
Shenon Bone described her sister, Erin Gallagher, as “a force.” “It’s just her wiring,” Bone said. Gallagher, an unincorporated Manhattan Township resident, grew up in a single-parent home in Joliet. Even though supplies were slim, she watched her mother give to other single mothers in need. “We were raised with awareness of community,” Bone said. “The only time we were in trouble is if we were thoughtless of someone else, we were not allowed to be remiss.” Gallagher took these lessons she learned as a child and volunteered as an adult. But when the pandemic began to affect the communities she called home, she used her public relations and culinary strengths to support her neighbors in a big way. “My day job is networking, so I used my business skills for humanity to network,” Gallagher said. She started a Facebook page called Manhattan Strong Illinois as a hyperlocal effort for people to post needs and offer donations. The group grew, and she watched as people in the area swapped, asked for and offered help. “There is no shame in a pandemic,” Gallagher said of the site’s success. “This community worked very hard to keep people fed, clothed and safe.” Gallagher said she used her kitchen as a “war room” to feed the hungry. She fed one to five families out of her home every week, and dinners were catered to a physician’s office in a Chicago-based hospital for six weeks through a connection she made in her daughter’s Brownie troop. She baked turkey, ham and side dishes for Christmas meals and delivered to the elderly, homebound and those in hardship. A former high school classmate reached out after his father passed and asked Gallagher to make a food tray for his mother, someone she had not seen in 30 years but who had volunteered at Joliet Central, where Gallagher attended. “I stood in the driveway and talked to her, she was a giant in my eyes,” Gallagher recalled. Her kitchen also became a bakery as homemade pies, cookies, brownies and treats of all kinds flooded her countertops. She passed them out to delivery drivers, the elderly and veterans. She prepped them for birthday parties in exchange for donations to
a food pantry and swapped treats for fresh produce from local farms, also to be given to food pantries. Gallagher made connections with food pantries and local farmers to portion food where it was needed most. She drove milk, produce and meat all over Chicagoland to ensure nothing was wasted. To her, yes, she fed people, but there was another layer within her mission: to make a human connection in a shelter-in-place situation where people suffered physically, financially and also mentally.
During the pandemic, the Girl Scout troop she led for five years asked for fabric donations. The girls bought elastic with the earned cookie money and the girls, mothers and grandmothers made 600 masks to donate out of 25 bags of fabric. She asked for donations of unused school supplies, and 35 families came through. She collected 400 books for parents who home-schooled or managed virtual school. She distributed supplies and treats to veterans’ homes, facilitated donations to schools with high poverty rates,
cooked meals for a widow, checked in on friends and called the police for a friend in mental anguish. And the list goes on. “The need is so great, the people who need help are the people next door, right in front of us. We don’t need to travel to a third-world country to find need,” Gallagher said. “People are right next to us.” Gallagher remembers a “tremendous compliment” from her sister. “She said, ‘God puts you in positions where he needs you, and you step up every time.’”
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
EVERYDAY HEROES
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BETHANY GRAMAN By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent In 2014, Bethany Graman endured the unexpected death of her father, Mike. She didn’t, however, let that tragic event overshadow what she had learned from her parents: to serve others. “He had a compassionate heart; he would always do random things like give homeless food. I remember thinking that I wanted to be like that when I grew up,” Graman said. The Morris resident has taken the lead her father started by adopting service to her community as a way of life. To honor her father, each year on his birthday, she drops money off at a local business to help pay a stranger’s tab. “She has a huge heart, she always wanted to help people, it makes her feel better,” her mother, Linda Graman, said. “She watched her dad go out and snow plow driveways, volunteer with the kids’ sports and church, always doing something.” During the pandemic, she wanted to find a positive outlet for her family’s time. At Christmas she focused on the elderly, low-income people and people with disabilities. She contacted nursing homes, low-income housing and the Narvick House to see what items were needed, then posted those needs on Facebook. Donations flooded in. She bought totes and filled them with supplies, her grandmother wrote out Christmas cards and Graman delivered them. During the battery fire incident in Morris this past June, Graman raised funds to help pay for hotel rooms for those displaced. She also donated meals, donuts and gift cards. “Wherever there is something, she’s always helping,” Linda Graman said of her daughter. To show gratitude to police and fire departments, she launched a fundraiser to offer personalized thermal totes to local first responders. When others got wind, she received requests from other communities and professions. “I asked for funds from the community, $20 would sponsor a tote. It kind of blew up from there — we gave out over 3,000 thermals,” Graman said. Wendy Briley, president of the nonprofit Grundy County Heroes and Helpers, said she has known Graman for several years and “fell into friendship” due to all of the community work she has done.
Briley described her friend as driven and caring. “She has gratitude for first responders and makes them feel special for the thankless job they do.” This past year, Graman joined the board of Grundy County Heroes and Helpers. The organization raises funds year-round to host a Christmas event where local first responders and youth in need have lunch with Santa, then pair up to shop for neces-
sities and new toys. “She was asked to be a board member because of the work she has done. It takes a special kind of person to put her heart into an organization,” Briley said. “She fit the role.” This seat on the board allows her to go out into the community and teach people about Grundy County Heroes and Helpers and fundraise for the events the group hosts.
Graman said she’s grateful her parents showed her how to give to others. Linda said when the children were still at home, they did not always have the money to donate, but one thing they donated was time. Bethany has followed suit. = “Her generosity benefits the whole community — not only our organization, but any organization she helps,” Briley said.
CHAD KODIAK
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EVERYDAY HEROES
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
When Chad Kodiak followed his father’s footsteps by attending pharmacy school, he knew he wanted to take a different path, to be in the community. “To get out from being behind the counter for a larger cause and initiative was the key part of developing my passion,” Kodiak said. He took that leap when the pandemic hit in March 2020. Kodiak was tuned in to the news, listening for a way to use his knowledge and skills to help. He heard about making masks, but he did not sew. He heard about making hand sanitizer, which, again, was not an option. He felt defeated until he heard there was a vaccine. “The vaccine, this we can do, not only can we do it, we already do this,” Kodiak said. In 1969, his father, Chip Kodiak, and business partner Dennis Dombrowski began KODO Pharmacy on the corner of Briggs and Washington streets. A high-rise opened down the street, and the owner called the pharmacy to fill prescriptions for the residents, which began the pharmacy’s partnerships with long-term care facilities. This is now the majority of its business. Twenty years ago, Illinois pharmacies were allowed to administer vaccinations, which fed into Kodiak’s desire to keep people healthy and expand the day-to-day operations of his pharmacy career. The pharmacy became certified for immunizations under the Illinois Comprehensive Automated Immunization Registry Exchange. Kodiak knew he wanted to first protect his clients in long-term facilities as he had taken care of their wellness needs. His mood deflated when he realized he would not yet have access to the vaccines and his patients did not fall under the umbrella of nursing home care, which was first on the list. “I continued to plan, I called a national pharmacy organization, was told there was nothing we can do, our role was education,” Kodiak said. He reached out to the Will County Health Department, which was overwhelmed. He decided if he could get the vaccines, he would find a way to get to his patients in long-term facility care, followed by the community. On Jan. 7, 2021, Kodiak picked up the vaccines and on Jan. 8, he began
to vaccinate. “It was lightning. We took a section of the pharmacy and reorganized, cleared it out and vaccinated people as they came in,” Kodiak said. At the same time, Kodiak heard nursing students at the University of St. Francis needed vaccines in order to start clinical rotations. Kodiak vaccinated the students and gave them an opportunity for clinical experience. In order for Kodiak to keep with the volume of vaccines needed for the community, he needed storage, so he worked with the university to store
the vaccines on campus. After the long-term care facilities were vaccinated, he began a mass vaccination clinic at Joliet Junior College, vaccinating students and staff at Lewis University. All three nursing schools in the area were a part of the movement. As of October 2021, KODOCARE has given 40,000 COVID-19 vaccinations, with mass clinics led by pharmacist Jeff Surdej. “There was not a clinic too big for him,” said Kim Gibson, clinical coordinator of University of St. Francis’
Leach College of Nursing. “We had clinics of 1,000 to 1,300 people per day, which almost doubled the Will County clinic they did at the old Toys R Us location. He did it and he did it from day one.” Katie Weber, Will County Health Department emergency response coordinator, said Kodiak’s help with long-term facilities and clinics helped the department focus on other populations. “I don’t think we would have been as successful with this if it weren’t for Chad and KODOCARE,” she said.
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
EVERYDAY HEROES
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CHRISTY LISTER By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent Since mid-2019, Christy Lister has worked to prevent other police officers’ families from experiencing the pain of losing someone. Her ex-husband, Downers Grove police officer Ken Lister, took his own life that year. “Families are serving next to the officer. Officers have a family life and a police family and they try to keep those lives separate, and communication stops,” Lister said. “We can’t make change if we don’t talk about it.” She found Blue HELP, a national nonprofit that began in 2017 with a goal to collect law enforcement suicide data, the first in the nation, and to honor those who died by suicide. Blue HELP co-founder Karen Solomon said Lister submitted her ex-husband’s information on the website and then got more involved. As the infrastructure grew, Lister became a local Blue HELP Illinois state representative to assist families and educate police departments in her own state. “Blue HELP was growing fast,” Lister said. “They needed people in each state talking to departments, officers and families, they need to know someone in the state understands the environment.” Lister visits departments to remind leadership that officers may have personal issues and that, at times, it can be viewed as weak to ask for help with mental health. She said issues can become amplified with stress at work and the way officers process or choose not to process the stress. She recalled that Ken stopped engaging emotionally and physically. She has begun to work with new hires in the departments. Lister said most officers tend to begin to shut down emotionally around the five-year mark, so if she can talk to the new officers about how to make things different, it may help in the long run. “Ken is why I’m here, I’m the family, this happened to us,” Lister said. “The most courageous thing to do is ask for help.” Lister has a goal to help the officers, educate leadership and work with families because the job encompasses the whole family, not just the officers themselves. Lister said she internalized Ken’s stress and blamed
herself for her husband’s withdrawn behavior. According to Solomon, Lister has become an asset as a Blue HELP state representative because she understands state laws and wants to create better ones in Illinois for first responders; she’s familiar with local cultures; she can identify issues unique to Illinois; she is able to get information faster and in turn help families in a timely way because she has a finger on the pulse of the state;
and she can reach out to more departments. “She’s unbelievably responsible, charismatic, independent, creative and not shy — she’s not afraid to get out there and reach out in a caring and compassionate way,” Solomon said. Lister also co-founded a group called The Harvesting Hope Project, which offers a safe space for first responders and families to open up about struggles and heal together.
Families and active or retired first responders have a sounding board, a place to not feel alone. She sits on the committee for the Council for Working Women through the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry and is also a part of the Three Rivers Association of Realtors. Lister said she feels her community strengthens when people give back, as she was shown by her grandmother and mother as a child.
JANET PALKON
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EVERYDAY HEROES
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
Janet Palkon has taken her love of children and intertwined it with her business to give back to others, even through a cancer diagnosis. “Now, especially with illness, I am thankful to be here,” Palkon said. “I’m getting through it, a lot of people don’t, and I know that.” In 2013, Palkon and her husband, Bob, began to foster children in their Joliet home. Since that time, they have fostered 30 children and adopted three boys. The business, Palkon Parties, travels to events to give a stuffed animal creation experience to guests. In addition to programming to support foster children and families, she uses her business concept to brighten the days of others. Palkon works with Lutheran Child and Family Services during Christmas and Easter, stuffing Easter baskets with donations or accepting donations of fully stuffed baskets. During Christmas she matches a foster child with a sponsor, who buys gifts and, on occasion, delivers them to the child. Project Me bloomed when Palkon realized how little the foster kids have with them; even though foster parents receive monetary support, it’s rarely enough for what children require. She hosts back-to-school drives, and throughout the year, donations of clothes, diapers, and the like fill the Palkon home. In response to her 2020 cancer diagnosis, Palkon created kits to be dropped off to people with cancer. She reached out to local nonprofit Pink Heals Joliet and gave them 90 bears to give to the Pink Heals home visit recipients for the season. After Palkon’s father, Richard Jaworowski, passed away in July, she created a project called RICHly Deserving Birthday Party after her father. These parties, designed for children in foster care, are sponsored, so the foster family incurs no cost. These parties allow the children to create a stuffed animal and make a wish on the heart that goes inside. “I say it’s stuffed with love,” Palkon said. Palkon puts out information on her Facebook page and through word of mouth, and people generously help. The work she does for children and foster families does not always
stay within the realm of her personal programs — sometimes she hears of a struggling family and takes it upon herself to brighten their day. For example, Palkon met Kelly McDermott via Facebook, a foster mom in the process of adopting three foster children who faced financial struggles due to her husband’s health complications. This left the family in a scary time right before the holidays in 2018. “She mentioned she would like
Santa to visit with the kids during Christmas, my husband was just out of the hospital so it was a hard time to get out,” McDermott said. McDermott recalled the night Santa was to visit. “I saw flashing lights and a cavalcade of cars, fire engines, police cars, Santa on a fire truck and about 100 elves with gifts to come and help with our Christmas.” She said the group stayed 20 minutes and the children were overwhelmed with the response.
“She’s a force,” she says. “They all left and we sat with the bags of donations and gifts. I sat down and wondered how did we get so blessed by this one amazing angel,” McDermott said. Bob Palkon said of his wife, “I’m proud of her; she does a lot of things that are unsung, and not for attention.” He described her as caring and other-centered.
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
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PHIL RITTENHOUSE By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent Phil Rittenhouse always dreamed of becoming a police officer. It didn’t come to fruition, but years later, he would find himself in a volunteer situation that took him close to his childhood dream. “I’m not a full-fledged police officer, but I can carry a gun, just not issue tickets,” Rittenhouse said of his volunteer position on the Lockport Police Auxiliary. “I fulfilled my dream somewhat.” Rittenhouse was encouraged to fill out an application for this program. Several years later, the application went through and he attended a sixmonth program at the police academy. When he first retired, Rittenhouse looked for “something to do.” He used his knowledge as a ham radio operator to launch a volunteer career with the Lockport Emergency Management Agency 12 years ago. Two years after he began, he became the coordinator, assisting Lockport Police Department with traffic control around town, at the high school and at accident scenes, approximately 800-1,000 hours per year. “It keeps me busy so I don’t sit around, watch TV and get fat,” Rittenhouse said. That initial involvement with Lockport EMA led to a string of other volunteer opportunities for Rittenhouse. Seven years ago, he joined the Will County Emergency Management Agency and shortly after, he joined the auxiliary. Rittenhouse said the most recent work he has done with the Will County EMA was the battery fire in Morris in June of this year. At this fire and other scenes, Rittenhouse sets up the communication vans at the event to create a command center for police and fire departments. He also electronically mixes the channels so the police and fire can be on the same radio channels to communicate. Lockport Police Chief Richard Harang said, “Phil always answers the phone whenever additional help or resources are needed and responds to assist any time, day or night, rain or shine. At times he will spend more than 12 hours on a particular scene or event just to help out whenever additional assistance is needed.” Harang shared a list of duties Rittenhouse performs throughout
his work with these agencies: traffic control; HellsGate Haunted House details; parades; assistance with events such as Canal Days, Community Unity, fireworks, Christmas Crossroads, car shows and Coffin Races; and more. Rittenhouse said he enjoys the variety of the volunteer work he has done over the years. He also volunteered during his time in the Marine Corps from 1966 to 1971 and carried it forward to civilian life: “I like to help
people.” In spring 2022, Rittenhouse plans to retire from his volunteer work in Will County and move to Indiana where he and his wife have a home on a lake. He plans to fish on the lake and spend time with his wife. “This gets harder for me to do with age, I had a minor stroke and health complications in 2020 and 2021, maybe this is showing me something,” Rittenhouse said. “We never know how much time we have left.”
Harang said he will never be able to fill the shoes of Rittenhouse with these organizations, as it’s hard to find someone who will always answer the call and not complain, even on a 12-hour traffic control event. He said Rittenhouse often heard he was worth his weight in gold. “We can’t find anybody to replace Phil, someone who will volunteer his time in multiple capacities,” Harang said. “We are not going to find another Phil Rittenhouse.”
By ALLISON SELK
Shaw Media correspondent
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
Tony Roy recalled a time when he lived in his car with his 4-year-old son, homeless, jobless and in need of help from a community in which he was not too familiar. “I was a single dad in Joliet during the recession, I was out of a job for three years, I can remember crying in my car,” he said. He said he was astonished how many resources were in the Joliet area to assist and keep him afloat while he looked for work, a grim search. With credit cards and a dream, Roy and his now-husband, David Schmidt, opened up Salon David Anthony in Joliet when work in other salons was not available. “It was a sink or swim situation,” Roy said. Since its inception in 2010, Roy and Schmidt have had a mission to give back to a community which held them close through tough times. “I wanted to give back to organizations that helped me when I was out there in my car with my kid. I got a lot of help, I’m grateful. I was raised Catholic, I have that passion to help,” Roy said. Ines Kutlesa, CEO of Guardian Angel Community Services, said, “They have a long history of volunteerism … amazingly, they have also supported nearly every charity in Will County one way or another over the years.” Kutlesa said Salon David Anthony began its charitable donations with them over a decade ago with Easter baskets filled with high-end salon products and self-care items for women in the 24-hour emergency shelter due to domestic violence. “Self-care and nurturing of one’s own self-esteem are crucial to the healing process for survivors of domestic violence, the impact which could last a lifetime,” Kutlesa said. Salon David Anthony has sponsored Guardian Angel’s annual Dancing with Our Local Stars Gala. The salon offers hair and makeup to the performers as well as beauty products for raffle baskets. The salon even offered purple hair strands — the color symbolizing survivors of domestic violence — to attendees at the Hops for Hope event. “I feel very moved when I see all they have done for us, they are a bright spot in our community,” Kutlesa said. On top of the extensive work with
EVERYDAY HEROES
DAVID SCHMIDT & TONY ROY
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Guardian Angel, Roy has almost every thank-you letter from its outreach to organizations such as the Will County Center for Community Concerns, Illinois Valley Industries, The Billie Limacher Bicentennial Park, Forget Me Not Animal Rescue, Joliet Public Library, Joliet Junior Women’s Club, Relay for Life, Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201, Catholic Charities, Joliet Township High School Foundation, Cantigny Post 367, Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, CASA, Cornerstone Services, Channahon
Baseball — to name a few from a list that seems to grow every year. Roy said he and David have a work-study program at the salon that both are proud to foster. Roy’s voice perked up as he spoke about the program and the students who now have a career in cosmetology because of it. The students at the Joliet Township high schools come in and ask questions about the business, the salon and cosmetology as a career. They interview staff, write a paper and give a presentation for a class project. Roy said the salon donates product to the
students for their presentations. “They job shadow, get color and cuts done, and some of the girls who work here now were in these classes. It’s great to experience the salon and a possible career, it’s one of my favorite things,” Roy said. Schmidt said what they do at the salon does not feel like a job and added giving back to the community has made their business flourish. “I think everyone should give back,” Schmidt said.
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A Big
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
THANK YOU For nominating us as 2021 Recipients of the “Everyday Heroes” Award. We are humbled and honored beyond belief to have been recognized. We are so proud to be a part of this great community. Being blessed with the opportunity to own our business in Joliet, Salon David Anthony and working with some of the top not-forprofit organizations and the great people in the community that are as passionate about giving back as we are. Success to us is about giving back and we THANK YOU for allowing us to follow our dream and do so. ~ Tony Roy and David Schmidt
2606 W. Jefferson St Joliet
815-729-9493 SM-CL1928122
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for the posi ti ve i mpact you make i nour
Family-friendly volunteering opportunities Spending time with their families benefits children in myriad ways. Such quality time can strengthen bonds between parents and children, and one study from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that frequent family dinners make children less likely to use tobacco, consume alcohol and use marijuana. Volunteering is a great way for families to spend time together. Children of various ages can reap the rewards of volunteering, and those rewards may be even more significant when kids give back alongside their parents. Children’s ages and maturity levels should always be considered when looking for a volunteering opportunity. The following are some family-friendly options parents can consider as they look to volunteer with their children. • Food drive: Participating in a food drive is a great way for families to give back together. Kids of all ages can pitch in on a food drive. Parents can take children to the grocery store and let them pick items to donate. Kids also can accompany their parents to pick up donated items and drop them off at the local food bank. • Toy drive: Toy drives are popular come the holiday season, and children of all ages may enjoy picking items that they know will help to make the holiday season special for other youngsters. If toy drive organizers don’t request specific items, ask kids which toys they would recommend or encourage kids to donate lightly used items they no longer use. Children are enthusiastic givers, and
toy drives are a great opportunity to illustrate how good it feels to help those in need. • Park/beach cleanups: Human beings are stewards of the environment, so what better way to instill that lesson in children than to volunteer to clean up local parks and beaches? Kids will look forward to a day in the great outdoors, and they’ll take pride in knowing they did their part alongside their parents to make their favorite green spaces and beaches cleaner for their communities. • Soup kitchens: In 2020, Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, cited a study that found 67 percent of food banks were in need of volunteers. Many volunteers, a significant percentage of which are seniors, stopped volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic out of fear of catching the virus. The successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children over 12 has reduced the risk of serious illness from the coronavirus. Though parents must consider various factors before volunteering in the era of COVID-19, fully vaccinated families can work with local food banks to safely offer their time. Such efforts can teach children valuable lessons about the importance of giving back, and many food banks have altered their operations to make it safe for volunteers to lend a helping hand. Volunteering as a family can strengthen the bonds between children and their parents.
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The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
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EVERYDAY HEROES
T H A N K YO U EVERYDAY HEROES
The Herald-News/TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
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CONGRATULATIONS to the 2021 Megan Bugg
Bethany Graman
Mary Cottrell
Chad Kodiak
John Davis
Christy Lister
Fred Ferrara
Janet Palkon
Eric Fisher
Phil Rittenhouse
Erin Gallagher
Tony Roy
David Schmidt It is an honor to recognize people in our communities who selflessly give their time and talents for others. Will and Grundy counties are a better place to live and work because of their efforts.
for going above and beyond
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Everyday Heroes|The Herald-News / TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
To Our Valued Everyday Heroes
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The Herald-News / TheHerald-News.com • Saturday, October 30, 2021
| Everyday Heroes
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1
of the Nation’s BEST Hospitals Just Got BETTER!
Earning the “Triple Crown” for healthcare – a 100 Top Hospitals ranking, a 5 -Star Rating by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and an A for Safety from the Leapfrog Group all in the same year – is a proud moment for Silver Cross Hospital.
This puts us in a very exclusive group of hospitals nationwide that have achieved this level of excellence in patient safety, patient outcomes and patient experience. So if you want award-winning care without the commute, trust Silver Cross Hospital.
Silver Cross Hospital proudly salutes the Everyday Heroes in our community.
1900 Silver Cross Blvd. • New Lenox, IL 60451 silvercross.org
