The 630 | June 2017

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June 2017 View more

COMMUNITY

Bring on the sauce
Naperville prepares this month for Ribfest, one of the largest summer festivals in Illinois that combines competitive barbecuers with music acts from all over the country. Headliners include Toby Keith, Colt Ford and Drew Baldridge (June 30); The B-52s and Flock of Seagulls (July 1); Shinedown and Collective Soul (July 2); and Wallflowers and Better then Ezra (July 3). Despite some initial controversy over Keith’s pre-Inauguration concert, discount general admission tickets sold out for the festival’s opening night in three days, a record for Ribfest promoters. Proceeds from the Exchange Club of Naperville event benefit social service agencies working to prevent and eliminate child abuse and domestic violence. ribfest.net

Barn raising
The former Knoch Park building known as the Barn Recreation Center—leveled last summer—is now the site of park district’s new Central Maintenance Facility. Designed with a barn motif, the building will include a public lobby with restrooms, a meeting room and an outdoor picnic patio. The parking lot will be available to park visitors on evenings and weekends. The public is invited to a grand opening celebration at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 17. napervilleparks.org

Novel benches
Books will be scattered throughout downtown Naperville beginning Father’s Day weekend through mid-September. Local artists and students creatively decorate the benches, sponsored by area businesses, such as this Washington Corners bench (shown) painted by Marianne Lisson Kuhn. For a map of locations visit the Downtown Naperville Alliance website. downtownnaperville.com

Modern luxury
Buyers looking for low maintenance with high style should check out Parks Edge, a new townhome community nestled into a thirty-acre wooded hillside just east of downtown Naperville, adjacent to Seager Park. Three- and four-bedroom open floor plans include 3,000 square feet of living space and first-floor masters, plus a finished lower level and deck or patio. parks-edge-naperville.com

OPENINGS

Steinway Piano Gallery
This third Chicago-area warehouse will showcase a large inventory of pre-owned Steinway grand and upright pianos, plus event and recital space for local music teachers and students.
1600 Shore Road, Unit B
630.325.0500
steinwaychicago.com

Hanna Andersson
Pure organic cotton and craftsmanship go into every Swedish-inspired garment, such as bold, striped sleepwear and iconic dresses and tees.
140 West Jefferson Street
331.250.7100
hannaandersson.com

NWB
An elevated whiskey bar and comfort food (shareables, soups and greens, burgers, sandwiches) spot in a timeless space with a bit of rustic charm, one block north of the Lisle train station.
4732 Main Street, Lisle
630.541.3811
nwbars.com

KUDOS

Two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett recently received Naperville Community Unit District 203’s Learners to Leaders award, a honor given to graduates for distinguished achievement and/or service to their community or nation. After playing just one year of high school volleyball at Naperville North in 1994, Barnett went on to become a two-time All-American at Pepperdine University following two honor-filled years at Pierce Community College in Los Angeles. The six-foot-five hitter then played in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic games and was named MVP twice on the US Men’s National Team, in 1998 and 2004.

Neuqua Valley High School student Philip Schulz (shown on next page, third from the left) has been selected as the 2017 winner of Naperville’s Sister Cities Young Artists showcase. Schulz’s winning piece, “Take Flight,” features a compilation of photos from his personal travels to represent the places and things we see in life. Schulz will have his artwork submitted to Sister Cities International in Washington, DC for national—and potentially international—recognition. He and eight other students were awarded prizes valued at $1,600 courtesy of the Sister Cities Commission, DuPage Children’s Museum, Naper Settlement, Chicago Sinfonietta, Naperville Art League, Dick Blick and QBBQ.

St. Charles resident Natalie Wiley and Batvia resident Madeline Hotham were second- and third-place winners in the Children’s Musical Theatre category (through age twelve) of the national Hal Leonard Vocal Competition. Both are students at Vero Voce Theater & School of Performing Arts in St. Charles.

Two Naperville students, Christina Yu (above left, a junior at Naperville North) and Jonah Covarrubias (above right, a sophomore at Neuqua Valley) recently returned from the Honeywell Leadership Challenge Academy at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Over 300 students from forty-five countries and twenty-seven states were given the opportunity to participate in the same training simulations as NASA astronauts, and they designed, built and tested their own rocket, developing computer programs to calculate its altitude and velocity.

St. Francis High School in Wheaton has recently been named a Microsoft Showcase School, a distinction granted to just over two dozen innovative high schools across the country. The school began working with Microsoft four years ago following the implementation of a one-to-one mobile learning initiative, putting a Surface Pro in the hands of each student and teacher.

FOUR UNDER 40

The Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce (NACC) recently hosted its second-annual Four Under 40 Achievement Awards to recognize four members who embody the principles of the Young Professionals Network (YPN) mission: leadership, professional growth and professional development.

Pictured above: Four Under 40 2017 award winners Rich Janor, Ian Holzhauer, Mike Isaac and Tom Peters with NACC President and CEO Nicki Anderson (center).

Ian Holzhauer of Nagle Obarski, PC
Holzhauer is an attorney at Nagle Obarski PC. After attending Naperville North High School, Holzhauer earned his law degree from Georgetown University, graduating in the top four percent of his class. He then served as a uniformed attorney in the Air Force JAG Corps from 2007 to 2014, with tours in Guam, Cuba and stateside. Holzhauer chairs the programming committee for YPN and leads the trustees for the First Congregational Church. He serves on the DuPage Children’s Museum Next Gen Board and will co-lead Jaycee Food at the 2017 Last Fling. Holzhauer and his wife Julie have four children.

Michael Isaac of Third Party Pet
Isaac is a business owner and consultant in the pet industry. As CEO and CFO of Third Party Pet, Isaac developed and manages a program for the American Kennel Club canine registrations, products and customer service operations, and consults across the US. As a member of Naperville’s Financial Advisory Board, he serves as an advisor on issues of municipal fiscal management, sound business practice and economic development for the city. Isaac is a member of the Naperville Jaycees and supporter of many local nonprofits. He is a married father of twin three-year-olds.

Rich Janor of Janor Sports
Janor is the president/CEO of Janor Sports and Game Day USA. He serves as president of the Naperville Park Board of Commissioners, head varsity baseball coach at Montini Catholic High School and regional director for USA Baseball’s National Team Identification Series program in the Great Lakes Region. Janor is an avid Chicago Cubs fan who holds a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Notre Dame and resides in Naperville with his wife Rhonda, their daughter Brooklyn and Rhonda’s son Caiden.

Tom Peters of CBRE Group, Inc.
Born and raised in Naperville, Peters has always valued relationship and community. As a commercial real-estate broker he has built his business on the foundation of personal connection. With a desire to advance the education and achievements of area professionals in commercial real estate, Peters co-founded the NACC’s Commercial Real Estate Professionals Network. Valuing the impact of mentorship in both personal and professional development, he also serves as a facilitator for NACC’s The Legacy Circle. Peters’ passion for service and leadership is exemplified through his involvement with DuPagePads as a member of its board of directors and chair of its Young Professionals Board.