Five Community High School District 128 Nominees Receive Dinstinguished Service Awards

A variety of public education stakeholders were honored for their support of education during the Illinois chapter of the National School Public Relations Association's (INSPRA) annual Distinguished Service Awards luncheon held May 12 at the Bolingbrook Golf Club. Five Community High School District 128 honorees were among the 33 individuals and teams recognized in the categories of administrator, board of education member, community member, faculty/certified staff, parent, support staff and team. District 128 honorees were:

Pat Groody, D128 Board of Education President -- Award of Excellence, Board of Education Category

Anthony Rodkey, Countryside Fire Protection District -- Award of Merit, Community Member Category

Sherri Cote, LHS Parent CATS President -- Award of Merit, Parent Category

Nancy Hornung, Data Processing, LHS -- Award of Merit, Support Staff Category

Deborah Beagle, Amy Dillon, Tiffany Heinlein, Freshman RITE Assembly Coordinators -- Award of Merit, Team Category

Entries were judged against criteria for excellence, and only those receiving top scores in a variety of areas received awards. NSPRA chapter members from Alabama, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin served as judges for the program.

Pat Groody

District 128 Board of Education President Pat Groody is the epitome of a board member committed to building relationships, fostering transparency and continuing a tradition of excellence at Libertyville and Vernon Hills High Schools. Elected to the Board in 2005, he has served as president since 2009. Joining the board at a time of tension and division on the board and in the communities, Pat was instrumental in creating a positive board culture, including a common focus on doing what is best for students within a responsible financial framework.

Pat is very accessible to all, and is directly involved with students through mock business interviews, monthly luncheons with student board representatives, and attending fine arts and athletic events. Major endeavors that Pat has overseen as Board President include the District's 10-year financial and capital projects plan; a five-year property tax abatement process; multiple innovative union contract negotiations; the lease, demolition, and redevelopment of the District's original high school; the District's digital learning strategy; and rebuilding positive working relationships with the villages. He has set the culture for the District through setting high expectations, allowing staff to do their jobs, and holding everyone accountable for student success.

Anthony Rodkey

Fireman Tony Rodkey is the Public Education Coordinator for Countryside Fire Protection District. His passion for educating residents, businesses and students about fire safety is evident the moment that you meet him and learn about his involvement in Community High School District 128 and at Vernon Hills High School.

Ten years ago, Tony wrote a grant that continues to provide ALL Vernon Hills High School graduating seniors with a fire safety kit. He organizes and instructs all District 128 coaches, staff and students in their Physical Welfare classes on how to administer CPR. He also teaches First Aid in VHHS health classes, ice rescue to Outdoor Education classes, kitchen fire safety to Food Classes, and "Get Out Stay Alive" to Consumer Management students.

As part of the District 128 Community Education Program, Tony teaches "Fire Behavior and Using Extinguishers," and teaches kitchen safety and grilling safety to cooking classes.

Through the "Fire Safety Video" competition, he will award $1,200 to the top three placers in the contest. The videos will be used as part of a campaign that allows students to teach their peers about the importance of fire safety.

The public education programs that Tony leads have made the communities a better place to live, work, learn and raise a family.

Sherri Cote

Sherri Cote is both a parent and an employee at Libertyville High School. As President of the Parent CATS organization, Sherri combines her knowledge of the school building with her parental responsibilities to serve as a true partner and liaison between students, parents, staff and community.

Sherri's passion for LHS is unparalleled. Through the Parent CATS organization, Sherri has helped facilitate fun activities for all students such as Hot Cocoa Fridays and National Cookie Day. In her tenure on the Parent CATS Board, Sherri has been instrumental in bringing the school a beautifully renovated cafeteria courtyard, concession stand, school spirit store, and activity boards to advertise student activities.

Sherri balances her family, work, and volunteerism seamlessly. She has a great personality and wit about her that leaves everyone smiling. This year, Sherri is taking on the challenge of guiding a group of parents through reimagining a Senior Graduation Party. Many people at LHS turn to Sherri when fresh ideas and new resources are needed. Tireless, resourceful and always spirited are words commonly used to describe Sherri. Thank goodness she has five children and we will enjoy her partnership with LHS for some time to come!

Nancy Hornung

Nancy Hornung is a graduate of Libertyville High School who is nearing her 40-year anniversary of working at the school. As a member of the Data Processing team, Nancy's incredible attention to detail is reflected in many of the school's written communications. She anticipates how parents will open and read materials, and she proofs every document from multiple perspectives--parent, student, administrator, and counselor--before it goes out.

Nancy was a key player in the implementation of a new school information system (SIS). Throughout the year-long implementation and training, Nancy was a leader and made sure things were perfect when the new SIS went live.

At the end of summer school each year, Nancy and several others work late to complete the rollover of the SIS to the next school year. This past rollover was a difficult one, and the team stayed until 1 a.m. to complete the project. It is in moments like these that Nancy shines.

Patience, hard work, high expectations, collaboration and creative problem solving are Nancy's strengths. She is amazing under pressure and it is safe to say that no one knows how to access, organize and maintain student data better than Nancy.

She will be missed tremendously when she retires this spring.

Deborah Beagle, Amy Dillon, Tiffany Heinlein

In October of each year, Vernon Hills High School hosts approximately 400 freshmen, 30 senior student facilitators, and 30 adult facilitators for its Freshman RITE Assembly. RITE stands for Respect Integrity Trust and Experience. The program's goal is to instill in the newest members of the VHHS family an understanding of the core values of the school - respecting and caring for their fellow students. This amazing experience would not be possible if not for the team coordinators: Student Activities Director Deborah Beagle, Student Assistance Program Coordinator Amy Dillon, and Counselor Tiffany Heinlein.This energetic trio coordinates logistics, speakers, leaders, faculty, communications, night and morning trainings, and ensure that this annual tradition goes off without a hitch.

The RITE Assembly begins with VHHS freshmen students attending an anti-bullying presentation that focuses on respect, diversity and walking in the shoes of someone else. Students participate in two small group sessions, and have an opportunity to share their experiences in an open microphone setting. Students write a letter to themselves that will be sent out to students during second semester to remind them of their pledge to make healthy decisions. Five senior students share their experiences and struggles while highlighting the importance of getting help and overcoming challenges.

The RITE Assembly coordinators have hosted visits by multiple schools interested in bringing this experience to their students.