Arlington Heights Senior Citizens Commission Announces Julie Wright as the 2015 Recipient of the Kenneth Hood Award

On July 31st, on Ken Hood's birthday, the Village of Arlington Heights Senior Citizens Commission will proudly announce that Mrs. Julie Wright is the 8th recipient of the annual Kenneth Hood Senior Service Award. Mrs. Wright will be presented with the Award at the Village Board of Trustees meeting on September 21st.

In 1986, Julie began volunteering for the senior community. Julie prepared taxes for seniors through the Tax Counseling for the Elderly for 25 years. Since 1988, Julie has volunteer taught the Secretary of State's Rules of the Road Review Course.

Before the Senior Health Insurance Program existed, Julie and friends helped senior citizens fill out Medicare supplemental insurance forms.

Julie was the first Park Place Senior Center computer teacher, teaching herself because computers were so new. She still teaches at the Senior Center. In 1993-1995, Julie headed and taught the team to enter the Senior Citizens Commission Needs Assessment survey data. In 1995, this won her the Volunteer Center's Volunteer of the Year Award. Ken Hood had won this award himself in 1991.

In 1999, Julie became a member of the Board of Directors of Arlington Heights Senior Center, Inc. Julie served on the Arlington Heights Senior Center's design committee in 1996.

For the past twenty-five years, Julie has served as an Arlington Heights Memorial Library Volunteer.

Since 2012, Julie and her husband Don are residents of Luther Village. She served on the Building and Grounds Committee for two years, and currently serves on the Library Committee and Board of Directors, the 25th Anniversary Celebration Committee and the Butterfly Garden Construction Committee.

"I hope this doesn't mean that I must stop volunteering. I really enjoy people," was Julie Wright's comment when she received the 2015 President's Lifetime Achievement Award (Arlington Heights Senior Center).