Picnicking in the Park: Our Volunteers Rock!

Between July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014, 1,561 volunteers donated 85,686 hours – the equivalent of 41 full-time employees! This hard work had to be celebrated, so we gathered at the Naperville Grand Pavilion with nearly 300 volunteers to enjoy music (from Belgio’s), food (from Gregg Eisel), and some fun yard games.

Shelly Schmitz, Director of Volunteer Engagement, and Hilary Nelson, Volunteer Coordinator, created some special awards for the event. In case you missed them, here were the awards and winners:

The Brady Bunch Award: The Mackh Family: Tracy, Charlie, Katie and Kevin
The Newcomer Award: Beverly Nelson
The Out-STANDING Outside Award: Gary Lund
The Power Couple Award – John and Marlyn Steury
The Mass Marketer Award – Fernando Fernandez
The Rising Star Award – Julia Nauman
The Backstage Manager Award – Marsha Howting
The Warm Heart Frozen Hands Award – Terry Polivka
The Saturday Superstar Award – Valerie Talsky

Special thanks to Rick Wagner, who snapped pics of the celebration, Carl Schnibben, the Naperville Park Police Chief, Dagmar Kauffman, who perfectly designed and decorated the picnic, and Bob Elazan, who helped set up and deliver a cheerful beverage service. We can’t wait till next year’s picnic!