Friday, November 30, 2012
Living local legend Robert Parker Coffin, 95, returned to Long Grove this week to reminisce about the history of the village, fighting for open space and witnessing the growth of surrounding suburbs.
Robert Parker Coffin served as village president of Long Grove for 20 years, plus two years as a trustee, starting in 1946. Then, he spent another 20 years on the village's Plan Commision. Today, he and his wife of 68 years, Betty, live in Lake Forest. They are filled with living history. Coffin, an architect and engineer, helped develop Long Grove's Master Plan. He designed the original covered bridge in Long Grove, and has a main thoroughfare that runs through town named for him. Locals still ask about him. "People always ask about the legend behind Robert Parker Coffin Road in Long Grove," said Mara Sabath, co-owner of Peppermint Stick at 410 Robert Parker Coffin Road, Long Grove. "I always wanted to meet him." Sabath invited the …
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Jen Rubino, 17, a high school senior, has braved two dozen surgeries so far. After one, a kind act inspired her to start a charity that has mushroomed, gained celebrity endorsements and helped children in unimaginable pain.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
- Pam DeFiglio
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Sunday, November 25, 2012
As an 11-year-old with a chronic illness, Jen Rubino was having a dark day. She'd had her 13th surgery, and she was lying in a hospital bed, in pain. When she received a handmade greeting card saying "stay strong" from a volunteer she never met, she says it made a world of difference to know that others were pulling for her to make it--and it really did help her to stay strong. Now 17, Rubino, of Park Ridge, a senior at Maine South High School, has founded a charity to give other seriously ill kids that sense of hope and caring she says the card meant to her. Though Rubino struggles with chronic pain every day, she has managed, through Cards for Hospitalized Kids, to help 10,200 kids in hospitals in many states, helped by endorsements …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Haley Mallon's spin team will be part of Sweat for tiny Hearts, which raises money to fund research of congenital heart defects.
One in 125 children is born with a congenital heart defect. Haley Mallon of Barrington was one of those children whose tiny heart did not operate properly. She underwent two heart surgeries in her first 11 days of life. Haley is now 17 and a senior at Barrington High School. She is a successful, competitive tennis player who is making plans for college. She has had four open-heart surgeries, so far. She hopes that research will make her next surgery less invasive. Haley is inspiring others, bringing a message of hope and awareness as a spokesperson for Saving tiny Hearts Society. Also called StHS, the organization raises seed money for grossly underfunded, lifesaving grassroots research of congenital heart defects. Haley said sharing her …
Monday, February 20, 2012
Doug McConnell raised more than $160,000 for Les Turner ALS research with "A Long Swim" in 2011.
- VOLUNTEERS IN THE NEWS
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Monday, February 20, 2012
The Les Turner ALS Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to the treatment and elimination of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), announced the election of Barrington resident Doug McConnell to its board of directors. McConnell will serve in this leadership position through 2015. “We are pleased to welcome Doug to the board of directors,” said Wendy Abrams, executive director of the Les Turner ALS Foundation. “His professional background and personal commitment to the cause make him an ideal board member capable of helping identify new, creative ways we can raise additional funds and improve upon our programs.” In 2011, McConnell created “A Long Swim,” a fundraising and awareness-building effort in connection with his English Channel …
Monday, January 9, 2012
Lance Cpl. Lisa Zychowski was treated like a rock star with a motorcade and cheers for her service.
For Lance Cpl. Lisa Zychowski, the welcome home festivities staged by Warriors Watch Riders were a total surprise. The riders, along with a police escort, showed up at her Barrington home, Sunday afternoon, with blaring sirens and beeping horns. "I thought a plane had crashed," Zychowski said. Upon learning that all the commotion was for her, Zychowski was full of smiles mixed in with a few tears. Zychowski just returned home from her first tour of duty in Afghanistan. She joined the Marines in 2008. She serves as a radio operator with the 8th Communications Battalion and keeps fit as a personal trainer. Warriors Watch Riders is an organization whose mission is to support veterans and their families in many ways. One of the goals of the …
Joe LoVerde
7:45 pm on Thursday, November 22, 2012
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