Marklund honors Bloomingdale couple

George and Pam Rion just thought they were going out for a nice brunch. What the Bloomingdale couple didn't realize is they would discover something that would guide their lives for nearly the next 20 years.

When neighbors invited the Rions in the early 1990s to a brunch at Marklund, a nonprofit group that helps people with severe developmental disabilities, the couple immediately felt called to get involved.

"We really loved not only the function of Marklund, but the message," said Pam Rion. "Just the fact that they take such good care of these precious, precious people. It became a cause for our whole family, since we felt it was very, very important for our children to understand how crucial it is to be supportive of an organization like Marklund."

Marklund provides residential, social and therapeutic services, respite care and a day school at locations in Bloomingdale and Geneva. This month, the organization named George and Pam Rion its Friends of the Year at its annual Top Hat Ball fundraiser, an honor given to supporters who go above and beyond for the group.

In the years after they discovered Marklund's work, the couple found themselves bringing their children to the organization's Bloomingdale campus to help the residents open gifts.

"It was part of building our children's awareness of the diversity of our world, and it soon became the supreme labor of love for my husband and me," Pam said.

Since then, George Rion has served as chairman of the Marklund golf outing and as member of the former development council. And as a former member of the DuPage County Board, Pam worked to ensure Marklund received county funding through community development block grants and human services grants.

In addition, Pam was crucial in assisting Marklund with securing a certificate of need for the last two 16-bed homes on the Geneva Mill Creek Campus.

The Rions said they have no plans to stop their work, even as their lives take them throughout the country. Today, through their excavating and grading companies, the couple also continues to donate to Marklund and their son, Christopher, 34, continues to help with fundraising efforts.

"The reality is, this is about realizing one's own's blessings and, therefore, wanting to share that with others," said Pam. "But, at the same time, realizing what may seem to be adversity to people like us turns into such a blessing as a whole. That's how I look at Marklund, that's why I refer to their residents as precious ones. Because they really are."

For more details on Marklund's work, visit marklund.org.