Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Garafalo takes the helm New Shorewood Rotary president anxious to give back
District 111 chooses employees over savings Kris Stadalsky For the Sentinel
By Clare Walters For the Sentinel
Misha Garafalo’s life has long been about service. Appreciating what you have and giving back to others and the community is something that was instilled in her at a very young age. “I had been raised around women who had emphasized giving back,” she said. “I was taught to be grateful and never take for granted the abilities you have.” This spirit, coupled with her outgoing personality and entrepreneurial business savvy, has landed Garafalo at the helm of the Rotary Club of Shorewood. Charted in 2005, the club is part of Rotary International, which is a worldwide humanitarian organization committed to service above self. Garafalo was installed at the club’s president on June 28. A Rotarian since 2011, Garafalo said she was hesitant about being tapped a president-elect in 2012, but the support and encouragement from the club members was integral to her taking on the role. “They said, ‘You have the leadership skills, and you’re gregarious, outgoing and energetic. We want to help you move forward, and we won’t let you fall on your face,’” she said. Coinciding with her installation as the Rotary president, Garafalo resigned last month from the Shorewood Area Chamber of Commerce board.The resignation allowed her to better focus on her expanded role with the Rotary and on her business, Handle My Task, a transport, courier and delivery service. Garafalo started her business in Shorewood in 2010, not long after moving into the village. A native of Harvey, she attended college at
Vol. 18 No. 36
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back.” Finally settling in Shorewood,Garafalo dived into her business after leaving the corporate sector. She learned that a home-based business required discipline, time management and getting “hands on, rolling up your sleeves and getting dirty with it.” Now comfortable calling herself an entrepreneur, Garafalo said she never looked back. “For people who start a business, hats off,” she said. “You’re investing money and time. You’re putting everything into it.” With the hard work on the business end, comes the natural, concerted effort “to thank
Minooka Community High School District 111 had an opportunity to save thousands of dollars in the transportation budget, but opted not to make the change that would have caused some employees loss of pay. The board took no action August 8 on a proposal that would have saved $77,000 over three years. The same proposal would have cut 16 bus drivers’ incomes by about a third. The district has about 60 drivers. District drivers typically have two local routes per day getting kids to and from school. Extra routes, such as transporting students to Premiere Academy in Morris or special education students to various locations, are given to the highest seniority employees. The savings would have resulted from bringing three drivers to full-time status and having them take over all the extra routes. Those employees would have had an increase in pay, while 16 drivers, who currently share the extra routes, would have had a decrease. Pam Frederick has been a bus driver for the district for 25 years. She has had an extra morning route for the past 20. If she were to lose that route to a full-time employee, her income would be reduced by $8,000 to $9,000 a
See GARAFALO, page 3
See SAVINGS, page 3
PHOTO COURTESY OF CLARE WALTERS
Rotary Club of Shorewood Past President Brian MacDonald passes the gavel to Misha Garafalo during her installation as the 2013-14 club president.
University of California- Berkeley, and settled into a career the San Francisco Bay area where she met her husband. Never expecting to relocate back to the Midwest, Garafalo was called home when her grandfather became terminally ill, and after his death, to assist her grandmother who couldn’t live alone. “Our families are really unique in that we don’t believe in daycare or nursing homes,” she said. All the traveling to take care of family affairs took its toll, however, and Garafalo and her husband decided to make a permanent move back to the Midwest in 2006. “I didn’t think I’d be here,” she said.“We sold our home in five days. There was no turning