Hometown pride: Local honors and achievements worth noting

Soccer player of the year

• Becca Rodgers, of Peotone, isis The Daily Journal High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

The strongest player in the area, Rodgers, a year after playing the club circuit during the spring, dominated again, piling up 48 goals and 14 assists. She could overwhelm opponents with her strength and athleticism, and, of course, that deadliness on free kicks.

Edgar fellows

• Former Gov. Jim Edgar announced state Rep. Josh Harms, R-Watseka, is among a select group of "up and coming" young people in Illinois selected as a 2013 Edgar Fellow.

The program in the second year of that program of the University of Illinois and its Institute of Government and Public Affairs, where Edgar is a lecturer and "distinguished fellow." The program is intended "to foster cooperation across regional, political and ethnic lines to address challenges the state faces in the years and decades ahead," the IGPA website states.

Other new Edgar Fellows this year are state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, and state Rep. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, who also represent portions of The Daily Journal circulation area. Last year's first class included three Journal-area legislators, state Sens. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields; Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington; and Rep. Pam Roth, R-Morris.

Relay for Life

• The American Cancer Society's annual Relay For Life walkathon featured nearly 1,000 participants in the 88-team Kankakee County fundraiser, bringing in about $330,000 during a refreshingly rain-free weekend at Bishop McNamara Catholic High School.

The event brought out the generosity of thousands of supporters who helped the teams. The Bourbonnais-based Nucor Steel squad was the top money-earner, raking in $48,000 for cancer research and the other services provided through the American Cancer Society.

Olivet pitcher Lasowski earns All-American honor

• Olivet Nazarene relief pitcher Kevin Lasowski has been named an honorable mention NAIA All-American — the first Olivet player to earn NAIA All-American status since 2005.

A senior this season, Lasowski finished with a 1.27 ERA and school-record 11 saves in 22 appearances for the Tigers. He struck out 32 in 28 1/3 innings, and his saves total was the fifth-highest in the NAIA.

The Schererville, Ind., native is one of 36 honorable mentions this year.

Olivet All-Americans

• Three Olivet Nazarene track and field athletes have been named NAIA All-Americans.

Senior Kortney Ellingboe earned the honor for the fifth and final time of her career after taking eighth place in the 5,000-meter run (17 minutes, 35.61 seconds) at the NAIA outdoor national meet at Indiana Wesleyan University.

On the men's side, sophomore Elisha DeRamus and senior Joe Reisinger both earned the same honor. DeRamus finished third nationally in the long jump (7.37 meters) and eighth in the triple jump (14.63), and Reisinger took sixth in the shotput (17.00).

Thanks to his perfect 4.0 grade-point average, Olivet Nazarene University pitcher Stephen Beckham has been named to theCapital One Academic All-America baseball First Team.

Beckham, a junior from Mount Vernon, is one of 11 first-team selections and 33 overall honorees.

As good as Beckham was is in the classroom, his performance on the field nearly was equal. This spring, the right-hander finished 9-2 with a 3.82 ERA and five complete games in 74 2-3 innings. He led the Tigers in wins and helped them finished with a 35-21 overall record.

Brickstone awards

• The North American Brewers Association recently awarded BrickStone's American Pale Ale with a gold medal in the American-Style Pale Ale category and BrickStone's Double American Pale Ale earned a bronze medal in the competition held last weekend in Idaho.

In all, some 1,800 beer entries were judged at this year's competition.

BrickStone's pale ale has won two gold medals and also a bronze in national competitions.

Citizens of the Year

• Ken and Eloise Bertrand say their hometown of Manteno is a charitable community.

But at the same time, when you think of charity in Manteno, the Bertrands often come right to the top of the list. When the Sears Warehouse had damaged containers of new clothes that they wanted to donate to charity, the people they called were the Bertrands.

"We became the people you call," Ken Bertrand said.

The Manteno Historical Society has honored the Bertrands as the village's citizens of the year.They were involved with several charities for many years. For 17 years, they maintained Grotto Park in the village. For 13 years, they made a weekly trip every Thursday to the St. Stanislaus Food Kitchen in Chicago. For eight years, they picked up the unsold bread every Monday at Panera Bread and distributed it to charitable organizations.

Gold Seal award

• Iroquois Memorial Hospital's Medical Imaging Department has received a Gold Seal for its three year re-accreditation from the American College of Radiology.

Rather than creating traditional film images, digital images appear in seconds on a computer screen providing better visibility and greater image flexibility than ever before. The images allow can be zoomed in and magnified for a clearer view of your health. Additional benefits of digital mammography are shorter exam times, faster results and fewer callbacks resulting in less anxiety and excellent care.

Homiletics award

• Olivet Nazarene University's School of Theology and Christian Ministry has presented The Sylvanus Carter Homiletics Award for 2013 to Tyler Hubbell, a senior from Hillsdale, Mich. A pastoral ministry major, he delivered a sermon that he had prepared to an audience of students, staff and faculty on April 16.

"I'm humbled by the call to ministry I've received and by the magnitude of God's love," Hubbell says. "My lifelong goal is to seek God in everything I do and to lead others to Christ by my example."

Hubbell transferred to Olivet before his sophomore year and will be graduating with the Class of 2013. Currently, he serves with the Preaching Ambassador program, often traveling to and ministering at area churches on the weekends. He has also served on a mission trip to Indianapolis. Next year, he plans to enter the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry program at Olivet and serve as a resident assistant on campus.

The Sylvanus Carter Homiletics Award was established by Dr. Stephen and Donita (High) Carter. The award honors Stephen's father, the Rev. Sylvanus Carter, who passed away in 2012. He was a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene for 56 years. His life and ministry modeled a strong commitment to preaching and pastoral care.

Friends of Basketball

• A graduate and lifelong resident of Herscher, Bob Webber, 81, will be inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in the category of "Friends of Basketball" as part of its class of 2013. The induction banquet is April 27 at the Illinois State University Student Union.

This past season, Webber completed his 25th year of running the scoreboard at Herscher basketball games.

A veteran of his craft, Webber was still caught off guard when he got the news that he would be entering the hall of fame.

"It was pretty exciting," he said. "Before I got the letter, I hadn't heard anything about it."

Webber is no stranger to Tiger athletics. He has been running the scoreboard "forever" during football season. When the position opened up for basketball season, the devoted Tiger supporter was glad to step up.

Honor for Iroquois Sands

• Friends of the Kankakee has been honored by Chicago Wilderness and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its work on the Iroquois Sands Land and Water Reserve,

Friends received the Conservation and Native Landscaping Award in December for exemplary ecosystem restoration and preservation. "Through this restoration project you have enhanced and protected biodiversity through... continued improvement of the habitat," the commendation said.

"This award goes to all of our volunteer who have collected and distributed seed, removed invasive plants, picked up trash, removed miles of barbed wire fencing, attended meetings to plan for these accomplishments and performed other tasks to keep the ball rolling," said Friends newsletter.

Woman of the Year

• Barbara L . Flatt of Wilton Township was named the 2013 Woman of the Year by St. Patrick Church of Wilton Center Council of Catholic Women. She was honored for giving years of dedicated service to the parish, including helping with card parties, receptions and dinners.

Malott wins Lucille Thies award

• John Malott, a Manteno native who rose to become ambassador to Malaysia as part of a 31-year career serving his country as a diplomat, was named the Lucille Thies Personal Achievement Award winner by the Manteno Historical Society.

Malott began his career as a civilian advisor in the Mekong Delta and rose to be the United States Ambassador to Malaysia during the second Clinton administration. Today he is the president of the Japan-American Society in Washington, a non-profit 501 (c) 3 designed to build friendship and cultural understanding between the two countries.

Richardson wins 800th

• Olivet Nazarene University softball coach Ritchie Richardson has won his 800th game, all of which have come for the Tigers. He has coached for 18 seasons, winning an average of 46 games a year.

Miller in Hall of Fame

• Ken Millerwas recently part of a class of 15 coaches inducted into the Illinois High School Football Hall of Fame in a ceremony held in Champaign on April 6. The class also included Jim Innis, who coached for two seasons at Momence before moving on to Argo where he spent the large majority of his coaching career.

Miller spent 14 seasons at Coal City, racking up 108 victories against 41 losses during that time. His 1994 squad captured the Class 2A title, and his teams qualified for the playoffs in all but one of those 14 seasons.

Prior to his stint at Coal City, Miller coached at Carthage for five season going 38-12 during that time. His 1984 team was the Class 1A runner-up.

Miller gave up the coaching job after the 1999 season, handing the reigns over to longtime assistant Lenny Onsen. Miller then accepted an administrative post at Coal City. He's retiring from that position at the conclusion of the school year and doesn't dismiss a possible return to the sidelines in his future.

Agricultural leadership

Three area residents have been selected for the Illinois Agricultural Leadership Program, which has been selecting outstanding young leaders for special two-year training and travel programs since 1981.

Among the Class of 2014's 30 members are Sheldon native Nick Nagele, now of Woodstock; Chatsworth resident Julie Gerdes; and Paxton resident Cindi Punke.

In two years, they will attend 14 intensive training programs with trips to Washington, D.C. and overseas included.

Nagele, 30, is the son of Mark and Cindy Nagele, of rural Sheldon, and is still active in the family farm.

He is manager and co-owner of Integrated Seeds in DeKalb, where he oversees NK and Golden Harvest seed sales in a wide area of northern Illinois.

Gerdes, 37, is manager of credit processing 1st Farm Credit Services, a farm credit cooperative based in Normal and serving 42 counties in northern Illinois. She also is actively involved in her family grain farm in Livingston County.

Punke, 45, of Paxton, is infrastructure product manager at Urbana-Champaign for CNH —the agricultural and construction equipment giant formerly known as Case-New Holland.

Ultra Foods donation

• Ultra Foods made a donation to Northern Illinois Food Bank for $45,333 to help the food bank distribute more food to the community. The food bank was a beneficiary from a recent charity golf outing held by the group of Supermarkets located in Northern Illinois and Northwest Indiana.

The donation will provide 271,998 meals to hungry neighbors in the 13 counties, including Kankakee, served by the food bank. One in eight people face hunger in northern Illinois.

WKCC Calendar Contest winner

• Scott Kaplar of Bourbonnais took the winning photo in the Gretchen Charlton Art Gallery and WKCC calendar contest.

Kaplar snapped the photo in early summer at the Perry Farm. His picture appears in the 2013 WKCC calendar as part of the WKCC Calendar Club, a monthly sustained giving program that supports their radio station. WKCC is a partner of the Gretchen Charlton Art Gallery.

Design award

• BLDD Architects has received a prestigious Solomon Award for their design of the Betty and Kenneth Hawkins Centennial Chapel on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University.

WFX Solomon Awards is the leading annual national awards program recognizing church building design across the full spectrum of church sizes and styles. Award nominations are open to churches, architects, designers and builders.

Carson Durham, AIA, served as the architect and lead designer for the project.

Planned as a place for all students, faculty and staff of Olivet to come together, Centennial Chapel has become that and much more since its dedication in 2010. This 75,000-square-foot facility — with its 3,000-seat auditorium and 10,000-square-foot lobby-gathering space — has become the heartbeat of the University. Its location at the main entrance drive of the campus provides passersby with evidence that worship is a priority for the Olivet community.

Morsch honored

• Gary Morsch, M.D., M.P.H. was the recipient of Olivet Nazarene University's Reed Leadership Award. A man of action and a servant of Jesus Christ, Morsch leads a ministry with international impact, has served in clinics and hospitals around the world, and once led a motorcycle ride from the southern tip of South America to Kansas City to raise $500,000 for charity.

Olivet's Reed Leadership Award and the Reed Institute for Advanced Study of Leadership were established by Dr. Harold W. Reed, who was president of the University from 1949 to 1975.

Morsch's career as a physician and his volunteer medical missions service led him to establish two successful nonprofit organizations:

Heart to Heart International, one of the largest volunteer relief organizations in the world and the third most efficient charity in the United States. This medical relief organization that stages airlifts of medicines and medical supplies to needy countries, responds to disasters, and organizes volunteer medical teams who work throughout the world.

Docs Who Care, providing health care services in rural areas of the United States. Doctors volunteer to work in community hospitals on a job-sharing basis, with the time and flexibility to make a difference in the world through their service.

Riverside accreditation

• Riverside Medical Center's Chest Pain Center recently received its reaccreditation with PCI from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

A typical treatment option for a patient who presents with chest pain due to blockage is balloon angioplasty where a balloon-tipped catheter is inserted through an artery in the groin or arm to enlarge a narrowing in a coronary artery.

"Statistics show that if you can open up the artery within 90 minutes, the patient's long-term success rate is excellent. Riverside's benchmark is within 60 minutes and many times we are well below that," said Christine Langellier, ER nurse manager.

"To earn this designation, Riverside demonstrated a commitment to the process of chest pain care from pre-hospital, through the Emergency department, the Cardiac Cath Lab and the inpatient units," said Langellier. "It also continues with Cardiac Rehabilitation and community education."

Provena accreditation

• Provena St. Mary's Hospital has received full Heart Failure Accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC), formerly known as the Society of Chest Pain Centers.

"Heart failure is currently the only cardiac disease that continues to increase in both incidence and prevalence," states Amy M. LaFine, president and CEO, Provena St. Mary's Hospital. "More Medicare dollars are spent for diagnosis and treatment of heart failure than for any other disease. At Proven St. Mary's Hospital, we are pleased to have taken measures through Heart Failure Accreditation to do our part to improve the lives of our patients, to manage their symptoms, and to be good stewards of healthcare resources."

Key areas in which Provena St. Mary's Hospital demonstrated its expertise include assessment and treatment of heart-failure patients in the emergency department; criteria for discharge, observation, or inpatient stay; patient education; and community outreach programs. The hospital's protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment and to risk-stratify patients to decrease inpatient lengths of stay.

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Hometown pride: Local honors and achievements worth noting