Kudos | September 2017

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Tight Ship
The state of Illinois is not getting props for its financial management, but one west suburban town is: Aurora. According to WalletHub, the City of Lights is among the top twenty Best-Run Cities in America out of 150 of the largest US cities (based on their operating efficiency). Let’s hope new mayor Richard Irvin, a former Kane County prosecutor, can keep up the good work.

Youth Support
DuPagePads was selected to receive a grant from The DuPage Foundation, which recently awarded more than $800,000 to area service organizations working to improve kindergarten-readiness in DuPage County. DuPage Foundation Trustees Del Koch and Mary Kay Kluge, Donor-Advisor Jim Heinking, DuPagePads President and CEO Carol Simler and DuPagePads Board Chair Valerie Jungels accepted the award at the DuPage Foundation’s Grant Awards Breakfast.

Scholars Score
Students from the DuPage County Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) program led the nation in medals awarded in STEM categories at the national awards ceremony. Three local students won gold medals in the categories of Chemistry (Cristal Johnson, Bolingbrook High School), Computer Science (Whitney Ford, Plainfield East High School) and Earth and Space Science (Riziki Covington, Neuqua Valley High School).

Birthday Gift
Whole Foods Market recently donated $23,112.94 to the the DuPage Children’s Museum as part of its quarterly 5% Community Days program, in celebration of the museum’s thirtieth birthday in 2017.

Singing Success
Rosary High School alumus Katelyn Jassoy won first place in the Lower College Women Musical Theater Division at the National Association of Teachers of Singing 2017 National Student Auditions. Jassoy is a student at Vero Voce Theater and School of Perfoming Arts in St. Charles and Oklahoma City University. She is double majoring in musical theatre and vocal performance.

Above Par
The Edward Foundation raised $462,000 at its annual Charity Golf Tournament at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. Shown below are Edward Foundation Executive Director Meghan Moreno, celebrity guest and former Chicago Bears linebacker Otis Wilson, Edward-Elmhurst Health System CEO Mary Lou Mastro and Edward Hospital Chief Operating Officer Marianne Spencer.

Scores Soar
North Central College is celebrating thirty years of success for its Junior/Senior Scholars (JSS) program, launched by Urban Education Laboratory Executive Director Janis Fitzsimmons, to improve the education of at-risk elementary and secondary students in Chicago area schools. Some 3,250 K–12 students from Oak Park Elementary School in Aurora and James Weldon Johnson Elementary School in Chicago have been impacted by JSS, including higher graduation rates and ACT scores.

On Board
Dr. Laura Bokar and Sue Haines have recently been appointed to the board of directors of Loaves & Fishes Community Services. Bokar is the CEO of Naperville’s Fox Valley Institute; Hines is a financial consultant for General Mills.

#GoombayGoals
Naperville resident and cancer patient Michael Meyer recently chaired the seventeenth-annual Goombay Bash to benefit The H Foundation. The Caribbean-style party is held each summer to raise funds for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.