NEWS
THE WOODSTOCK INDEPENDENT
VETERANS DAY SALUTE
Nov. 19-25, 2014
3
Treasurer Continued from Page 1
John Sorensen of Woodstock’s VFW Post 5040 plays “Taps� during a Veterans Day salute along Throop Street Nov. 11. The VFW hosts the event annually. PHOTO: ALEX VUCHA
Stuntman
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of “Chicago P.D.â€? and “Chicago Fire.â€? Harlan’s resume might seem unconventional with skills like ďŹ ghting, high falls, ďŹ re burns, stair falls and water skiing, but it’s attractive for stunt work. “I’m a water guy,â€? said the Elkhorn, Wis., native, who grew up water skiing at Lauderdale Lakes. “I’m also a good guy to kill. The basis of stunts is a lot of falling and a lot of getting shot. It’s the stuff they don’t want the actors to do.â€? Harlan is associated with Midwest Stunts, a Chicago-based organization comprised of professional stunt performers, coordinators and secondunit directors throughout the Midwest. He works with pros like Tom Lowell, stunt coordinator for the NBC hit series “Chicago P.D.,â€? and fellow Woodstock resident Rick Le Fevour, stunt coordinator for NBC’s “Chicago Fire.â€? Le Fevour has more than 30-years of Hollywood stunt work experience, working on sets for ďŹ lms like “Divergentâ€?, and coordinating stunts in “ e Dark Knight,â€? “Rudy,â€? and “Groundhog Day.â€? Following good friends and fellow stuntmen like Chris Nolte, Todd Bloomer and Kenny Richards from the live-action show days to the TV set stage, Harlan said he developed his talent from everyday-life activities.
“It’s come full circle, at 41 years old, and for WKH Ă€UVW WLPH , GRQ¡W want to change a thing. I’m still reeling it all in. It’s still not real.â€? — Brian Harlan, stuntman
“It’s jumping off cliffs with your friends at some lake somewhere, it’s the wrestling match with your buddies,� said the Navy veteran, who served on the USS Saratoga after graduating high school. “It’s been my whole life. It’s training from day one. is is a natural thing. e amount of training that goes into it is skiing every day; it’s hiking; it’s rock climbing; it’s doing real things in real time.� Although Harlan has had some martial arts and gymnastics training, he said water skiing has been his biggest coach. He has 15 years of ski show experience. “It trains every muscle in your body,� he said. “It’s quick, subtle adjustments, and that’s the same thing when you’re doing what you’re doing in stunts.�
Harlan did take time off from the business, though, to spend more time with his family and wife, Camden Harlan, athletic secretary and garden coordinator for Woodstock North High School. “ ey love it,â€? he said. “It’s fun for them, too.â€? Camden Harlan agrees. ough the stunt work can look scary, she said she knows her husband is in good hands with a very safety-conscious organization. “It’s pretty crazy!â€? she said. “ e ďŹ rst time we saw him on TV we were screaming. at feeling hasn’t gone away. Every time we see him on TV and every time after that. e whole family watches, and they’ll call during commercials to say they saw him. And everyone takes screen shots.â€? Harlan can’t keep away from the water, though. When he’s not on the set, he works with Roswell Global, an innovative and technology-forward marine sporting goods company, as a regional sales manager. “I’m pretty pumped in life,â€? he said. “It’s come full circle, at 41 years old, and for the ďŹ rst time, I don’t want to change a thing. I’m still reeling it all in. It’s still not real. To go anywhere and achieve anything, you have to have passion and you have to love what it is you’re doing ‌ and it’s a blast. I try not to take life too seriously.â€?
IN BRIEF
Volunteer Center to offer grant-writing workshop
Volunteer Center McHenry County is hosting an affordable, six-session series on grant writing with a focus on increasing grant development knowledge in a relevant and applicable way. The series will start Thursday, Dec. 4, and will include: grant templates; information collection; a panel discussion with funders; identifying goals and objectives; the evaluation process; and reporting outcomes.
To register, visit volunteercentermchenrycounty.org or contact the Volunteer Center of McHenry County at 815-3444483.
Rotary Club to collect for Christmas Clearing House, volunteers needed The Woodstock Noon Rotary will hold its annual weekend tag days fundraiser to support Christmas Clearing House,
Thanksgiving week. Rotary Club members and additional volunteers will collect monetary donations at Jewel, Wisted’s and various locations on the Woodstock Square Wednesday, Nov. 26, Friday, Nov. 28, and Saturday, Nov. 29. Tag Days donors are given a tag to wear on their coats to show their support. Interested volunteers should call Laura Cullotta at 224-276-2581 or Lynn Fiala at 815-321-5017, or sign up directly online on VolunteerSpot at http://vols.pt/ C3KgRN.
performing her senior year with the espian Club, directed by Tony Casalino. She went on to minor in theater performance at Valparaiso University in Indiana, where her stage experience prepared her for work on a different platform. “I’m sure the public speaking and being in front of an audience was certainly great practice,â€? Mitchell said. Mitchell pursued a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Valparaiso and Master of Arts in philanthropic studies from Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Prior to joining the Indiana Treasurer of State’s OfďŹ ce, she was a county commissioner for two terms in Cass County, Indiana. She was the youngest commissioner in the state, and the ďŹ rst female ever to be elected commissioner in the county. For ďŹ ve of her eight years, she served as president of the board. For the last six years, Mitchell has served in the treasurer’s ofďŹ ce as the director of TrustINdiana. In that position, she managed more than $500 million in public funds and helped Kelly Wood train local elected Mitchell ofďŹ cials to manage money. With her statewide plan called S.A.V.E. Indiana, Mitchell said she hopes to give students, adults, veterans and educators more tools to make better ďŹ nancial decisions by working to make Indiana the most ďŹ nancially literate state in the nation. “ ere’s more we can do connecting resources to needs. Across the country, the treasurer’s ofďŹ ce is the natural place for those kinds of initiatives to come from,â€? she said. Mitchell said Indiana has a higher student debt load than average in the country. With two of her own children in college, Mitchell said she hopes to establish ďŹ scal literacy programs to work with prospective college students in the college choice – advocating for students to choose the schools which offer the right education for the right price. Her plan also involves working with teachers at all levels to develop ways of increasing the ďŹ scal literacy of students. Mitchell said running for ofďŹ ce would have been worthwhile even if she hadn’t been elected. “Keep walking through the open doors and taking opportunities,â€? she said. “ is experience itself, of campaigning and running in Indiana, it would have been a win for me anyway because the experience was so rich. I’m certainly glad I won, but it would not have been a loss in any sense of the word if I hadn’t, because it was such a great experience. I think just stepping out there and saying, ‘why not try it,’ that’s the thing to keep doing.â€? Mitchell said she still has family in the area. Her brother, Col. Edward Wood, is serving in the army reserves and currently stationed at Ft. Lewis, in Tacoma, Wash. Her sister, Kirsten Hill is a Woodstock resident.
STREET SMARTS Woodstock Police and safety ofďŹ cials throughout Illinois are reminding residents to fasten their seat belts and drive sober during the Thanksgiving holiday.
Average gas price
$2.94
/GAL.
.01
Reects average price of regular unleaded gasoline at Woodstock gas stations the morning of Nov. 17.