Exchange Club honors member with service award
The Distinguished Service Award recognizes the contributions of a member over their career in Exchange, and this year the Exchange Club of Grayslake awarded that honor to David Raye.
David's dedication to the pillars of Exchange has been an inspiration to the organization. The Exchange Club's mission of eliminating child abuse attracted David to the club in 2007, and he has been an active participant ever since, including a three-year stint where he served as president elect, president and then immediate past president of the club.
As president elect, David had a definite vision for the club going forward. It was his desire to get a handle on the club finances and to run it "like a business." He worked closely with Linda Hartmann, the treasurer, to better align the club's finances with generally accepted accounting principles.
David's dedication to Exchange is complementary to his other main goals: advocating for the children who are the least able and, therefore, most needy: the kids with disabilities and the poor, forgotten and underprivileged. He gives generously of his time, talents and leadership in several organizations.
David serves as chairman of the board for SEDOL Foundation, which assists severely disabled children from ages 3-22. Under David's leadership, the foundation has reached the milestone of raising more than $500,000 that allowed the foundation to grant more money than ever to the SEDOL Center and various programs.
In 2009, David designed and launched the "Help Them to Hear" program. More than 400 children in SEDOL's care have been identified with partial or complete hearing loss. The "Help Them to Hear" fund provides assistance to the many families that don't qualify for state funds.
David serves on the Deacon Board of Christ Church Lake Forest, which consists of leaders who conduct all business on behalf of the church. About five years ago, David joined the Board of the Hindustan Bible Institute in Chennai, India. David made five mission trips, leading several of them.
During the most recent two-week trip (February and March 2015), David and the team spent several days in Chennai working with the day care center and school, training the providers and teachers. From there, they went to Siliguri to help establish a day care center and work with the teachers at the school. Their goal is to provide nurturing environments for the neediest children.
David owns the Goddard School in Third Lake and has recently announced a new addition to the school, an outdoor learning center, where he continues to strive to give children the best educational start in life possible.
David and his wife, Donna, have been married 32 years, and have two children: Emily and Evan.
David approaches all projects with passion, patience and humor. His leadership style is collaborative and participative, and exemplifies the team-building concepts that he obviously learned well in business school. He treats everyone with respect and generosity, regardless of how much or how little they can contribute. He is a true Exchangite.
Exchange, America's Service Club, is a group of men and women working together to make their communities better places to live through programs of service in Americanism, Community Service, Youth Activities, and its national project, the Prevention of Child Abuse.
For information on the Exchange Club of Grayslake, visit www.exchangeofgrayslake.org.