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PEOPLE & PLACES  Lombard Executive Director Retires Michael A. Fugiel retired as executive director of the Lombard Park District on May 31. He had been the leader at the district for a decade. Throughout his 33-year career in public service, he donated thousands of hours to the cause of parks and recreation on the local, state and national levels, including volunteer service to the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association, the Illinois Association of Park Districts, the National Recreation and Park Association, Southern Illinois University, the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association, the Lombard Rotary Club and the Lombard Chamber of Commerce. Highlights from his list of accomplishments in Lombard include the purchase of the Sunset Knoll Recreation Center, the development of the Madison Meadow Softball complex, the construction of the district's administrative office building, the gymnasium addition at Pleasant Lane School and the construction of a new maintenance facility. Under his leadership, the district achieved Illinois Distinguished Agency status in 2002. In January 2005, he received the Illinois Park and Recreation Association President's Award for his work on behalf of the 16 park districts that were adversely affected by the tax cap legislation passed in 1993. Fugiel joined the Lombard Park District as executive director in 1997, after working with the Park Ridge, Skokie and Franklin Park agencies. Geneseo Set to Welcome New Director in August 
The Geneseo Community Park District Board of Park Commissioners selected Molly Hamer as the district's new executive director. Hamer brings 11 years of experience in the parks and recreation field. She has served as the superintendent of recreation for the Schaumburg Park District. She holds a bachelor's degree in recreation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master's degree in counselor education from Western Illinois University in Moline. While at Schaumburg, Hamer was responsible for the direction, development and operation of recreational facilities and programming for the district. She managed a budget of $2.2 million and oversaw the selection, supervision and evaluation of 45 full-time recreation department personnel. She oversaw operations for the 64,000-square-foot multi-use community center, two neighborhood centers, four swimming pools and a corporate fitness center. Programming areas included cultural arts, senior activities, athletics, special events, teens, an after-school program, preschool and early childhood, aquatics, trips and general programs. Hamer is from Geneseo. She has served as a park district board member; a board member for Geneseo Marriage and Family Counseling; on the University of Illinois Department of Recreation, Sport and Tourism Alumni Advisory Board; and has served on the IAPD Research Council. She completed coursework at the National Recreation and Park Association schools for executive development at Indiana University and revenue sources management at North Carolina State University, and she participated in the Midwest Marketing Symposium. She will begin her directorship on August 1.
 New Director for Romeoville The Village of Romeoville has recently appointed Kelly Rajzer as director of parks and recreation for the Romeoville Recreation Department. She oversees the day-to-day operations of all recreation programs, facilities and park administration. She also serves as liaison for the Romeoville Special Events Commission and the Lockport Township Park District Resident Advisory Committee. Rajzer served as superintendent of recreation at the Romeoville Recreation Department for five years before stepping into her new position. She has been in the park and recreation field for 15 years, beginning her career at the Alsip Park District as a building and aquatics manager. Rajzer then moved to the Bolingbrook Park District, serving as the recreation supervisor and community center manager before moving to Romeoville. Rajzer is a graduate of Illinois State University in Normal. She has a B.S. in park and recreation administration with an emphasis on program management. Rajzer is a member of IPRA, NPRA, SSPRPA and the Tri County SRA Board.  Bolingbrook Hires New Superintendent of Recreation Brian Meyer was recently hired as the superintendent of recreation at the Bolingbrook Park District. He succeeds Tom Carstens, who was promoted to deputy director in March. In his new position at Bolingbrook, Meyer is in charge of the day-to-day operations of the recreation department. Before coming to Bolingbrook, Meyer was superintendent of recreation at the Itasca Park District for nearly three and a half years. At Itasca, he oversaw the operation of the water park and museum in addition to the recreation department. Prior to Itasca, Meyer worked at the Rolling Meadows Park District for nearly 10 years. Meyer has a B.S. in recreation, park and tourism administration from Western Illinois University. 
Eight agencies from Illinois will vie for one of the top honors in the profession, the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (AAPRA) and National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Gold Medal. Gold Medals honor communities throughout the United States that demonstrate excellence in long-range planning, resource management, volunteerism, environmental stewardship, program development, professional development and agency recognition. Five medals are awarded to local agencies each year. The 20 finalists are categorized by population served. The Illinois nominees fall into four categories as follows: Class II (population 100,001 - 250,000) Class III (population 50,001 - 100,000) Class IV (population 25.001 - 50,000) Class V (population less than 25.000) Winners will be announced at the NRPA Congress held in Indianapolis in September. Musco Lighting LLC. is this year's sponsor of the Gold Medal Award Program. 35 www.ILparks.org July/August 2007 Fox Valley Announces Promotions and Additions  Barb Potter Ivan Chambers Susan Conant Jesse Kinsland Diana Erickson Chris Kuehn Gloria Liliana Neitzel The Fox Valley Park District has announced seven staff member additions and promotions. Barb Potter, who formerly served as facility manager at Eola Community Center, is now facility manager for Vaughan Athletic Center. Potter began her career with the district as a part-time tennis pro in 1999 and developed and supervised the junior tennis programs from 2002 to 2005. Potter has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana University. Ivan Chambers has been named facility manager of Eola Community Center. He received his bachelor's degree in physical education/parks and recreation management from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He worked for more than 10 years in program/facility management for the YMCA. Susan Conant is a park planner for the district. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee and a master's degree in landscape architecture from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a licensed landscape architect who has conducted a private landscape architectural consulting practice specializing in park, municipal and transportation projects since 1991. Projects she worked on include Tri-County State Park (now Pate Philip State Park), RiverPark of Geneva, Pottawatomie Native Plant Garden, Les Arends Forest Preserve and Redmond Park Playground and Picnic Area in Bensenville. Jesse Kinsland is the park district's newly hired risk manager. He worked for the Champaign Park District for five years. Kinsland obtained his bachelor's degree in recreation from Central Methodist University and his master's degree in park administration from Western Illinois University. Diana Erickson has been hired as senior finance manager. She has 11 years of experience as a municipal finance manager. Erickson was awarded an MBA degree from Aurora University and is working toward her CPA designation. Chris Kuehn has joined the recreation department as a recreation supervisor. Kuehn began working for the park district in May 1996. He has worked with the tree crew, as well as on trail mowing and upkeep. Kuehn passed the Arborist Certification Exam in 1998. The next year, he was put in charge of the athletic field crew, which made him responsible for the upkeep of the district's 52 ball fields and 45 soccer fields. Gloria Liliana Neitzel is the new multicultural outreach coordinator for the district. She is from Cali, Colombia, and her mission is to connect with Fox Valley Park District residents to discover what their recreational needs are and then to plan rich cultural programs and events. Her community involvement includes volunteering with the Salvation Army, the Girl Scouts of Fox Valley, the Latino Engagement Community Council and the Suburban Hispanic Heritage Community Council.  Cary Park District Hires New Director of Communications and Program Manager
Katie Veto has joined the Cary Park District as the director of communications and marketing. With more than ten years of marketing, graphic/web design, sponsorship and public relations experience in both the public and private sectors, she brings a variety of skills to develop and implement the district's overall promotion and publicity programs. Her primary responsibilities include design and implementation of the district's marketing and communication plan, the production of the seasonal brochures, managing the Web site and all print and electronic communications associated with the district's programs and facilities. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and studied both communications and marketing. Erica Hedlund has joined the district as program manager. She oversees the preschool, early childhood and extended care programs, as well as several special events for the district. Hedlund is a graduate of Western Illinois University with a degree in recreation, park and tourism administration. She completed an internship with the Gurnee Park District. She is a member of IPRA, NRPA, and AEE (Association for Experiential Education). 36 Illinois Parks & Recreation www.ILipra.org |
Round Lake Parks Laborer Earns Grounds Tech Certification
Ane Olivares, parks laborer for the Round Lake Area Park District, has recently earned the distinction of becoming a Certified Grounds Technician by the Professional Grounds Management Society. She is now one of 55 park professionals nationwide to hold this distinction.
Becoming a Certified Grounds Technician requires in-depth study of such key topics as basic plant care, shade trees, turf management, shrub and flower care and pest and disease control. Olivares was accepted into the program, finished all assignments and passed the final test in just three months.
Olivares has worked with the district in different capacities since 2004.
37 www.ILipra.org July/August 2007
Two Join WDSRA Inclusion Team
Sara Steinbach, CTRS, takes on a new role for the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association as inclusion coordinator. Steinbach previously held the position of cultural arts/social programs coordinator at WDSRA.
In her new role, Steinbach is responsible for inclusion program staffing, participant observations and evaluations.
Steinbach will also be a liaison for park districts and will be responsible for providing basic disability awareness training to district staffs.
She received her degree at Illinois State University in parks and recreation administration with an emphasis in therapeutic recreation.
Angie Wetzel recently joined the inclusion team at WDSRA. She is responsible for inclusion program staffing, participant observations and evaluations. Wetzel will also act as a park district liaison.
Wetzel comes to WDSRA with a range of experience, including teaching special education at the elementary level and working with special recreation programs while in high school and college.
Wetzel received her degree in elementary and special education from Bradley University. She minored in psychology.
38 Illinois Parks & Recreation www.ILipra.org
Lake in The Hills Hires New Rec Supervisor
Lake in the Hills Parks and Recreation Department has hired Trevor Bosack as a new recreation supervisor, a
position created due to the expansion of the department. Bosack oversees a variety youth, sports and senior programs, along with special events. He has previously worked as a program director at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing, Michigan and as an assistant general manager at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge. Bosack has a B.S. in recreation and tourism management from Michigan State University.
Two Illinois Agencies Take Financial Reporting Honors
The Elmhurst Park District and the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association (WDSRA) have announced that they are among those local government agencies that have been recognized for their financial reporting efforts.
Elmhurst was honored with the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget, while the GFOA gave WDSRA a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the SRA's comprehensive annual financial report. WDSRA is the first special recreation association to receive that distinction.
Awards were presented to Elmhurst's Director of Finance and Human Resources Cathy Medema and Special Projects Coordinator Laura Guttman and to WDSRA's Superintendent of Finance and Personnel Sharon Cedvilas.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving approximately 16,000 government finance professionals.
Waukegan Facility Chosen as Finalist for Building Award
The Waukegan Park District's Field House at Hinkston Park was recently chosen as a finalist for the 51st Annual Chicago Building Congress Merit Awards. These awards are given in four categories: New Construction Chicago; New Construction Suburbs; Rehab Construction; and Construction Under $10 Million. Judging is based on distinctiveness of design, quality of construction, positive impact on the surrounding community and safety record.
39 www.ILparks.org July/August 2007
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