Arlington Heights Hearts of Gold Honorees Celebrate February 21

The Arlington Heights Special Events Commission is proud to announce the winners of the 2015 Hearts of Gold awards, who will be honored in a community celebration, an awards dinner, held at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, February 21 at Rolling Green Country Club, 2525 E. Rand Road, Arlington Heights. This program recognizes individuals who work or live in our community and enrich the quality of life in Arlington Heights through their generous contributions and acts of kindness.

The public has the opportunity to nominate individuals, businesses and groups for these awards in October of each year. Thanks to everyone who provided such outstanding nominations for the Hearts of Gold. Everyone is welcome to attend this community celebration which recognizes the extraordinary efforts of ordinary people. The cost of reservations is $60. If you are interested in attending, please email nkluz@vah.com or call 847-368-5104.

The 2015 Hearts of Gold Honorees are listed below, along with a short bio from the nominations that were submitted on their behalf. Photos were provided by Mark Johansen:

Mentor: Rev. Arnold Perham.

This award recognizes an individual who has done an outstanding job in inspiring others to excel, serves as a role model and provides leadership.

For over 40 years, the Reverend Arnold Perham has taught students at Saint Viator High School the fundamentals of math while giving them the confidence and values they will need to succeed in life. His sense of humor, kindness, understanding, and ability to motivate students to achieve their best has made him a legend at Saint Viator High School. In 1989 he received a prestigious award, given only once every 3 years, by the Math Teachers' Association of Catholic High Schools in Chicago. He retired in 2001 but continues to come to school every day to work with various students. At 85, his presence as an educator at Saint Viator challenges everyone to be better.

Best Neighbor: Fran Rozanski.

This award recognizes a resident who consistently goes out of their way to be a good neighbor.

Fran is described as the heart of Windsor School for 27 years and has been a wonderful neighbor to all families of the school by wearing the hats of a friend, mother figure, counselor and confidant to over 80 staff members and 450 students and family members. Fran has been described as "the face of Windsor" and is often the first to talk with students in need, and she shares in the joys and sadness's of the Windsor families. Families that left Windsor 20 years ago will still come back to visit the warm and friendly Fran Rozanski - which is a true compliment of her dedicated work at the school.

Educator - Greg Lendy.

This award recognizes an educator in Arlington Heights who goes beyond the school day to help teach our children.

Greg Lendy has been an instrumental teacher and leader at South Middle School for the past 17 years, and he has had an important role in developing the school's heart and soul. He is a gifted educator with natural teaching skills and is filled with a tremendous drive that enables him make a difference in the lives of his students. Mr. Lendy gives students the right amount of encouragement and then challenges them further to be active risk takers. His exceptional ability to interact with students has earned the complete trust of his parent community. He is a leader in the school community and co-sponsors a Ping-Pong club that regularly attracts over 100 students per week, one of the largest clubs of the school. His volunteerism for the school also includes other popular programs that many students embrace.

Young at Heart - Nadine Macfadden.

This award recognizes a senior citizen in Arlington Heights who continues to actively contribute to our community.

Nadine has a strong compassion to help others in the community of The Moorings of Arlington Heights. She is very involved in several volunteer projects that help fulfill The Moorings mission of being involved beyond The Moorings gated community. Recently, Nadine has dedicated many hours to making sleeping mats out of recycled plastic bags for the area homeless and she also participates in outings for Feed My Starving Children and works at promoting area food drives, mitten and hat drives, school supply drives, and even has donated hundreds of homemade bracelets that have been donated to children's hospitals.

Heroic - Arlington Heights Police and Fire Departments.

This award recognizes someone who goes above and beyond in performing a "heroic" deed.

This award is given to the Village's public safety departments for the heroic acts so many performed during a Domestic Dispute/Hostage situation that occurred on December 12, 2013. The Police Officer who first responded to the call was a hero as he attempted to assist the hostage and other captives in the home, but was shot and severely wounded. This honor also extends to the Police and Firefighters who arrived on scene and risked their lives to get the Officer out of harms' way and took great measures in helping save his life and resolve the hostage situation.

Young Champion - Emily Davidson.

This award recognizes a middle school or high school student who does more than expected to have a positive impact on our community.

Emily Davidson is a Buffalo Grove High School student who has dedicated much of her student life being involved in school and community activities -- while maintaining an excellent GPA. Emily serves as one of the officers of Interact, the school's volunteer club, and as part of that group she has planned many volunteer events that are aimed at helping others. She has participated in food drives, is co-editor of the school newspaper, a Literacy lab tutor, member of student government among many other activities.

Volunteer - Janice Krinsky.

This award recognizes someone with a true volunteer spirit who contributes their time to charitable or civic organizations in the Village.

Janice Krinsky's dedicated to District 59 started over 15 years ago when her children were enrolled in the District. After her two sons went onto District 214, Janice continued to volunteer with District 59. One of her major accomplishments was to develop parent support for a 2003 Referendum that was successful. Afterward she was approached to start a Foundation for the District, which she eagerly pursued. She organized fundraisers for the Foundation and was involved in reviewing Foundation grant requests that helped provide innovative learning experiences for students. After her many years of involvement, she was appointed to fill a vacancy on the District 59 School Board where she is able to continue to contribute to the school community.

Community Spirit - Wayne Arden.

This award recognizes an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to the Village, often working on a thankless, but necessary project.

Wayne Arden has volunteered in some capacity for the Village of Arlington Heights for decades. He started making a mark on Arlington Heights through his volunteerism with The Festival Committee, which organizes the Village's Fourth of July celebration. He served many facets of the group, including serving a term as a co-chair of the several-day event. He was instrumental in overseeing volunteers at Frontier Days where he started a Marshall Program, which involved organizing a dependable group of volunteers who would help ensure that rules were followed and the event ran smoothly. He later re-created a Marshall Program with the Special Events Commission, where he served more than 20 years as a commissioner and 3 years as chairman.

Business Leadership - Bentley's Corner Barkery.

This award recognizes a business that goes beyond its responsibilities and makes significant, philanthropic contributions and/or participates in organizations that improve the quality of life in our Village.

Bentley's Corner Barkery won the hearts and dedicated patronage of many pet owners in the community after opening their Downtown store about 7 years ago. They are devoted to their clients and community by extend the pet services they offered as well as participated in community events. The owners were even dedicated and offered their expertise and backing to the creation of a dog park for the community's pet lovers. They also work with local groups to help place pets in permanent homes.

Pam Stocking Heart of Gold - Marilyn Neuman.

This award, named after the Village's first Disability Services Coordinator, recognizes someone whose passion and spirit has impacted the entire Village in a unique and special way.

Marilyn Neuman, a former math teacher for more than 30 years, found her niche in assisting seniors with their tax preparation. She said it's in her nature to want to solve problems, so volunteering with AARP's Tax-Aide program was a perfect fit. Prior to dedicating her time to the AARP program, Marilyn also volunteered for Catholic Charities' Red Tape Cutter program. Being motivated to cut through the red tape of programs for Senior Citizens like Circuit Breaker and Medicare D, has helped her hone her skills in her roles with AARP Tax-Aide. Through her efforts she has met many residents who she has kindly helped in resolving some of their personal financial issues or living situations. She finds great reward in resolving problems for those overwhelmed by troubling by matters that are confusing for them.