Donna R. Bisesi: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Rolling MeadowsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Rolling Meadows parksAge: 44Family: I was born and raised in Rolling Meadows. My parents were one of the first 100 families to buy a house in town. I am the youngest of 8 children. Some of you know me by my maiden name, Schumacher. I have been married for 22 years and have 2 young boys.Occupation: I chose to stay home with my kids and have enjoyed being able to support their academic, social, and recreational activities while running a home based internet business for the past 8 years.Education: I have a Bachelors of Arts degree in Elementary Education from National Louis University. Previous to that, I received my Associates Degree from Harper College.Civic involvement: I was very involved in the Rolling Meadows Jaycees for many years, being elected to numerous offices including; Vice President, President, and Membership VP for the North Region Jaycees. Near the end of my tenure with the Jaycees, my local chapter honored me with the distinction of becoming an Illinois Junior Chamber International Senator, an honor I am very proud to have received. I am currently very involved in the Willow Bend PTA as the Newsletter Editor, New Member Liaison, and Spirit Wear Co-Chair. Previously I was the Co-Chair of Social Programming for Double Take Mothers of Twins Club. Recently my boys joined the Cub Scouts, so I am finding ways to assist my children with this new endeavor. I have spent the majority of my life doing volunteer work for such worthy causes as: The American Cancer Society, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, March of Dimes, Juvenile Diabetes, Special Olympics, and Relay for Life, to name a few. In many instances I have tapped into my resources and expertise to run fundraising projects for these organizations, raising as much as $8,000.00 for one event.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 I would like to see our parks refurbished and maintained in a financially responsible way to provide safe, durable, equipment for our residents to be able to utilize and enjoy. Over the past couple of year, we have had some beautiful renovations done to some of the older, worn out playgrounds. I would like to see that continue with some new innovative designs utilizing durable materials that in the long run, will save the park district money.Key Issue 2 I would like to investigate and implement improvements to the current recreational programming that is offered at the park district to better fit the needs of our very diverse population. We need to ensure that what we are offering is appropriate and desired by people of all ages, backgrounds, and financial stability. I think that we offer some unique opportunities through our senior center that other park districts have not implemented, however, I think there are still some avenues we could explore to increase participation in all areas of programming. For example, I know that many neighboring park districts offer discounts for siblings or spouses who sign up for the same class or to individuals who sign up for multiple classes. In the long run, offering this type of family discounts increases participation in programs, brings more money into the park district, and leads to greater customer satisfaction. I know there are some residents of Rolling Meadows that prefer to pay out-of-district rates to neighboring park districts for programs similar to those we offer. I would like to investigate why that is and find ways to make our programming more attractive. I want the Rolling Meadows Park District to offer top quality, cutting edge, innovative programming in all areas of recreation that will inspire residents of neighboring communities to invest their hard earned money in our park district. We may be a small community with a tighter budget than our neighboring towns, but with creativity and ingenuity, I believe we can entice new and diverse segments of the population to take advantage of our enhanced, innovative programming, which in turn will lead to increased revenue.Key Issue 3 I think that we should be implementing programs that best meet the current state of our community, as dictated by the residents that we serve. As a service organization, our job is to offer programs that enhance the lives of the people in and around our community. Keeping in mind the current economy, employment rate, and financial position the residents we serve are experiencing, I think it would be a great enhancement to our recreation programming to offer life improvement opportunities as well. People who need to switch careers or re-enter the job market after a long absence may need basic training on computers, resume writing, interviewing skills, using the internet as a job search tool etc. Programs like this are offered through adult continuing education in neighboring towns for reasonable fees. I believe this is the type of service we should be offering to our residents through the park district? Health screenings are a growing concern for our senior population and our ever growing uninsured or underinsured residents. Perhaps we could work cooperatively with local health organizations to put together a health fair with medical screening, inoculations, dental screenings, and wellness information to provide basic health care answers for our residents in need. There are so many other opportunities we have to better serve our community; tax preparedness, legal issues, parenting skills, building healthy lifestyles, and even pet adoption. For example, the community center is used once a month for a bird show. I think it would be wonderful to work with the local animal shelters and even our own temporary animal foster care program to host a quarterly dog and cat adoption program at the park district. Follow up classes could be offered in basic pet car and pet training as a way to bring in additional revenue and once again provide our residents with relevant and timely programming. My feeling is that by offering these types of life improvement opportunities to our residents, at reasonable costs, reduced rates, or in some cases as a free event, we are providing much needed services to our residents that very well might lead to future participation in additional programming generating increased cash flow for the park district.Questions Answers What programs aren#146;t paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Many of the programs are success and may very well be paying for themselves. For example, I think our teen night and pajama parties are very successful and more than pay for themselves. On the other hand, I think some of our programs need improvements to make them more cost efficient. One example of this would be our aquatics programs. I think the basic learn to swim class could be more successful. I think there would be greater participation and therefore more income to the park district if classes were taught using the new and improved American Red Cross learn to swim program.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.Many parents I have spoken to would like the park district to look into acquiring one of the many vacant buildings in our town to open a year round indoor play center for children. I think that would be a fantastic endeavor if alternative funding were available in the form of grants, sponsorship, donations, and volunteer man-power to get the ball rolling in a financially responsible way.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?I would love the opportunity to get input from individuals and groups to determine which direction they feel the park district should be moving toward. I am a ""think outside the box"" type of person and I believe it is important to take time to brainstorm new ideas that would increase program participation, build community support, and find ways to better utilize the resources that we have in order to make financially sound decisions that enhance the services we are able to offer the residents of Rolling Meadows and the surrounding area. Recently I have noticed that the park district has focused on bringing new opportunities to our residents, which I think is a positive step. Some of the new programs have been successful and some still need a little work. I think the fact that they are trying to evolve and become more innovative is fantastic. I think the biggest challenge to the success, or lack there of in new programming, is participation. I would really like to focus on finding ways to improve participation in park district programs. Perhaps a town hall style meeting of residents; those who still utilize our facilities and those who no longer participate in programs, could get together and discuss what aspects of our programming is most valuable to them and why, and what improvements would enhance their experience and encourage increased participation. As far as implementing the changes and how to pay for them, I think there are always creative ways to achieve any goal; by tapping into resources, partnering up with local businesses, and working with local volunteer groups to successfully meet our objectives, we create a win #8211; win for everyone involved.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?Yes, I would be interested in sharing resources with other local governments. Rolling Meadows is a small town community. We should pool our resources for the betterment of our residents as a whole. By working together to help each other, we bring back that home town feeling that has been losing its momentum in our community. Additionally, there are many financial advantages to combining resources including; volume discounts on materials and supplies, reciprocal agreements for shared use of unique resources, and enhancing efficiency thereby reducing labor costs.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.Although I am considered a newcomer to politics in general, I have utilized the Rolling Meadows Park District my entire life. Having grown up in this town, I played park district sports, swam in the park district pool, skated at the ice arena, climbed on playground equipment, and participated in numerous programs over the years. I also had the opportunity to work in tandem with the park district as a part time employee of Northwest Special Recreation Association for almost 9 years. Now that I am a parent raising my own children in town, I feel that my unique experiences, long term residency and continuous support of the Rolling Meadows Park District may provide a useful perspective to the current distinguished board of commissioners. I think our park district does a remarkable job with the resources they have. I have had the pleasure of knowing Amy Charlesworth through the park district for close to 18 years and I think she does a fantastic job in her position as Director of Parks and Recreation. I would love the opportunity to work along side her and the rest of the commissioners to find cost efficient ways of enhancing the many opportunities offered to the citizens in our community and developing new and innovative programming for the future.