Palatine letter carriers earn Million Mile Award
On Thursday, Jan. 8, after years of working through rain, sleet, snow and heat, 16 Palatine Post Office letter carriers received the Million Mile Award for safe driving. Mark Thieme, Robert Milostan, Brian Wijas, Bill Zaker, Kenneth Dems, Mike Callahan, Mark Kurpiel, Terry Jones, Martha Ackerman, Don Wilke, Ron Kiefer, Steven Jorwic, Leonard Hall, Gregg Llyod, Mario Flores and Wayne Williams, all who work on routes that service Palatine, were honored with lifetime enrollment in the National Safety Council's Million Mile Club for driving without being involved in a preventable motor vehicle accident for a cumulative total of one million miles or 30 years. The Million Mile Club is part of the Safe Driver Award program created by the National Safety Council. The Safe Driver Award is the trademark of the expert driver and is recognized as the nation's highest award for professional safe driving.
• The District 212 board of education approved the nomination of Tatiana Bonuma as the next principal of West Leyden High School. Bonuma, who will assume the post on July 1, replaces Wil Wagner, who will retire June 30. An educator for 19 years, Bonuma is currently in her eighth year as assistant principal at the West campus. Prior to Leyden, she was an associate principal at Grayslake North Community High School, and a dean of students at both York Community and Larkin high schools.
• The Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association honored the best of Illinois' 35,000 hospitality workers and organizations at its annual Stars of the Industry regional awards luncheon in December. Schaumburg hospitality employees took home the following awards: Maria Roman, lobby attendant, Hyatt Regency Schaumburg, Housekeeping Employee of the Year; Paul Kramarski, engineer, Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, Maintenance Employee of the Year; and Paola Lorch, front desk ambassador, Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel, Regional Guest Services Employee of the Year. Rosemont hospitality employees took home the following awards: Sarah Devries, sales administrative assistant, Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Administrative Employee of the Year; Greg Clark, courtesy van driver, Holiday Inn and Suites Rosemont, Bellstaff Employee of the Year; Eduardo Mendoza, steward, Hilton Rosemont, Regional Food and Beverage (Back of the House) Employee of the Year; and Maria Garcia, barista, Westin O'Hare, Regional Food and Beverage (Front of the House) Employee of the Year.
• Schaumburg resident Alec Schweinberg, a marine science major at Coastal Carolina University, Conway, North Carolina, had a research paper published in the January 2015 edition of the online magazine MarineScienceToday.com.
• Send 'Neighbor in the News' items to Norrine Towhey at ntwohey@dailyherald.com.