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McHenry County News DISPLAY ADVERTISING & CLASSIFIEDS: 815-654-4850 • CIRCULATION: 815-654-4854 • E-MAIL: McHenryNews@RVPublishing.com
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 1
11512 N. 2nd ST. • MACHESNEY PARK, IL 61115
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 2017
President of Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois to retire Sam Schmitz has announced his retirement as President of Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Stateline Area, Inc. after serving as President since Jan. 7, 2008. Schmitz will stay on as President until a replacement is found which is anticipated to be the spring of 2018. “Sam has been an extraordinary leader for our organization over the past 10 years. While we’ll miss him as he transitions to retirement, we’re grateful for the team he’s built to carry on Goodwill’s mission in our community,” stated Brian Reck, Goodwill’s Board Chairman. Under Schmitz’s leadership the agency has grown from a $4.4 million in revenues, employing approximately 250 people in 2008 to a $17 million agency with over 540 employees today. The agency will serve an estimated 20,000 individuals in 2018. Schmitz stated, “I feel good about playing a role in our success. Goodwill has a strong, committed and supportive Board of Directors and a tremendous leadership team. Our employees work hard every day to build revenues in order to help people get to a better place in life through our mission activities. “I will certainly miss going to a job day-in and-day-out, where you know that your work helps people enhance their own lives. However, it is time for new leadership to take the agency to a new level of service to the communities in which we operate.” Mr. Schmitz also played a key role in the Governor’s signing of House Bill 2527 which allows for the creation of an Excel Center in Illinois by removing the age cap for students to obtain a High School diploma. The Excel Center is a proven educational model where students can earn a High School diploma, earn industry-recognized credentials and college credits in a supportive environment. “Sam’s leadership and dedication in getting this bill passed was the first step in affecting positive change in so many people’s lives,” continued Reck. Mr. Schmitz serves on the board of directors for Goodwill Industries International and serves as ViceChairman of Goodwill Industries
International Council of Executives. Locally, Schmitz is on the board of directors for the Workforce Connection and Access Services of Northern Illinois. Throughout his career Mr. Schmitz served on a number of community boards including Rockford Local Development Corporation; Chairperson for Human and Public Services Council, Rockford District #205 and Co-chair of the Process and Analysis Team for Transform Rockford. In 2011, Mr. Schmitz was named as “Twenty-one People You Should Know” by the Rockford Chamber of Commerce. Prior to the Goodwill position Mr. Schmitz was the Executive Director of the Employers’ Coalition on Health, Rockford, Illinois for nearly 10 years. Prior employment also included nearly twenty (20) years with the City of Rockford, being named Personnel Director in 1985 and served as City Administrator from 1989-1998. Mr. Schmitz has a BS in Secondary Education from Northwest Missouri State University and a Masters Degree in Geography from Western Illinois University. He has lived in Rockford since 1979 and is married to Susan. He has a son, Anthony, daughter-in-law Kathleen and three grandsons who reside in Milwaukee, Wis. About Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois is a community-based notfor-profit organization whose mission is to create opportunities for individuals with barriers to enhance their lives. Goodwill funds job training programs, employment placement services and other communitybased programs by selling donated clothing and household items in its 11 retail stores located in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. In 2016, Goodwill Industries of Northern Illinois served 8,153 people in the communities in which we reside. Goodwill stores in northern Illinois (Rockford, Machesney Park, Freeport, Sterling, DeKalb, Ottawa, McHenry, Huntley, Crystal Lake and Algonquin) and Beloit, Wis. employ over 550 people. Visit their website at www.goodwillni.org.
Lake in the Hills man indicted on child porn charges A man from Lake in the Hills was indicted last week by a federal grand jury in Rockford on charges of child pornography. Paul W. Christmann, 50, of Lake in the Hills, Ill., was charged with two counts of transporting child pornography via the internet in 2013, and one count of possessing two computers in 2017 containing images of child pornography. Each count of transporting child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, and possessing child pornography carries a maximum of up to 10 years in prison. Each count carries a $250,000 maximum fine. If Christmann is convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing
statutes and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Jeff Sallet, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Chicago. The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force assisted in the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
HUNTLEY FD PHOTO McHenry County News
Fire Dept. Ride to School winner
Piper was the winner of this year’s Fire Prevention Week poster contest at Legee Elementary. This contest was made available to all Huntley Community School District 158 first grade students. As the winner of Legee Piper got to ride to school with Truck 983. Congratulations Piper. Thank you to Principle Iddings and the teachers at Legee for participating in this year’s contest.
Centegra seeks volunteers to help serve McHenry County Centegra Health System is looking for volunteers who are ready to serve the community by sharing their talents with patients, visitors and staff. Volunteers logged more than 57,000 hours at Centegra in the past year, assisting in patient reception areas, the Centegra Pink Door Thrift Shop in McHenry, patient transport, the Caring Paws Animal Assisted Therapy Program and delivering newspapers and flowers. Volunteers can assist at the hospitals in Huntley, McHenry and Woodstock as well as at Centegra Gavers Breast Center, Centegra Immediate Care Center locations, Centegra Neuro-Rehabilitation Center, Centegra Sage Cancer Center and Centegra Pink Door Thrift Shop. Centegra makes every effort to match volunteers’ interests and abilities to department needs. Centegra accepts adult volunteers throughout the year and student volunteers during the summer. Visit Centegra.org/volunteer to find more information. Interested adults can fill out an online application, while students can download an application and return it by mail or fax. Once an application is submitted, applicants will be invited to attend a volunteer orientation. “Volunteers are an integral part of Centegra. They truly make a difference every day in our hospitals and throughout the whole organization,” said Rachel Sebastian, Centegra Hospital-McHenry president. “We are honored when volunteers choose to help us serve the community.”
Holiday traditions
SUBMITTED PHOTO McHenry County News
The Austin Family of Fox River Grove enjoyed a beautiful Saturday, Dec. 16 cutting their own Christmas tree at Pioneer Tree Farm in McHenry. Pioneer Tree Farm is owned and operated by Bill and Alice Howenstine & family and has grown Christmas trees for decades. A warming house with hot chocolate, baked goods and crafts for sale, as well as candle making and outdoor fire, made this yet another memorable, old-fashioned Christmas activity for the community, with some proceeds benefitting The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County.