People to be thankful for: Cherie Murphy, Elgin

Cherie Murphy says her contribution to the Elgin community is not about what she's done, but the people she's helped do it.

“My strength is that of community connector,” Murphy said. “It's not that I volunteer more than a whole lot of other people. My function has been to connect people to the right people, and to help foster community volunteering.”

Murphy, 62, retired in May from her job as assistant to the city manager for community engagement. She still works part time for the city on things like the Alignment Collaborative for Education community initiative.

She started working for the city on a contractual basis in the 1990s to organize a new neighborhood outreach program, and was hired in 2000. She previously worked in consumer products training and public relations, but left that behind to raise her daughter, she said.

One memorable project early on was helping build a new playground for McKinley Elementary School.

“It revitalized that school and the neighborhood,” she said.

Her family instilled in her the spirit of “giving back” at an early age, Murphy said.

Her father was a volunteer fireman, and a member of the chamber of commerce, Kiwanis and Lions clubs in her hometown of Abingdon, Illinois. Her mother ran the local food bank.

Her first large-scale volunteer project was organizing, as school council president, a parade to celebrate her hometown's anniversary.

“It is a culture we grew up with in the Midwest. It's kind of a pioneer spirit that goes back to our roots. Everybody had to give or you didn't survive,” she said.

“I think that's a mentality that has survived over the generations, and we need to cultivate with our young people.”

Murphy is “the quintessential public servant,” City Manager Sean Stegall said. “I'm honored to work with her.”

Connecting people is about networking, and getting to know the community and its players, Murphy said.

“It's helping (people) plug their talents where they're needed, helping people connect with one another. It's that human connection, and getting people working together toward a common goal.”

The reward of being a connector is seeing people accomplish great things, she said.

“The most important thing to me is that people keep their eye on the prize, which is to be a better community.”