Arlington Heights boy earns first at Taekwondo nationals

Arlington Heights resident Adrian Kakareko, 12, a student at White Tiger Martial Arts Center in Wheeling, placed first for board breaking at the U.S.A. Taekwondo National Championships recently held in Detroit, Michigan. The competition was held by U.S.A. Taekwondo which is recognized by the United States Olympic Committee as the national governing body for the sport of Taekwondo in the U.S.

Kakareko, who has been practicing martial arts for seven years, joined thousands of other athletes to compete against hundreds of martial arts schools in a series of events including sparring, poomsae and board breaking. All events require athletes to be disciplined and skilled. Over 3,600 athletes competed in the championship where only the top competitors won medals.

• Joey Corso, a junior at William Fremd High School, Palatine, recently presented a program about the 2017 eclipse to students at Willow Bend and Central Road elementary schools. He spoke to over 1,000 students, who enjoyed his Oreo cookie demonstration to show what a partial and total eclipse looks like. An aspiring astronaut, Corso has been training at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the past three years. He has completed Robotics, Space Camp, Advanced Space Academy and Aviation Challenge where he was awarded Top Gun. His goal is to be one of the first to be on the Mission to Mars scheduled for around 2033. A Student Ambassador for the Mars Generation, Corso is also starting a Space Club at Fremd High School where NASA and astronauts on the Space Station will Skype in occasionally to educate on the importance of STEM and Space Exploration.

• Palatine resident Paresh Vipani was named chief financial officer at Infinity Healthcare Management, responsible for planning, operating performance, and financial leadership of this multistate health care consultancy company specializing in long-term care. Vipani brings to the organization more than two decades of experience in corporate finance and accounting. He is widely recognized as accomplished in structuring and negotiating complex transactions on favorable terms with commercial and investment banks.

• The Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation, an organization dedicated to the prevention of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse and the promotion of positive mental health, announced its 2017 Community Heroes: Cindy Coggin of Park Ridge; Marty Cook of Maine Township; Ray Imig of Des Plaines; Danny McGovern of Park Ridge; Niles Park District; William Pelarenos of Norridge; Katie Parker of Park Ridge; Andrea Rey of Des Plaines; Jill Smith of Park Ridge; and Carolyn Uhlig of Park Ridge.

The awardees will be honored at the Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation's Community Heroes Benefit on Thursday, Sept. 21, at Café la Cave in Des Plaines.

The Community Hero Award was established to honor those people who have demonstrated a high degree of volunteerism and/or a financial stewardship with the Maine Community Youth Assistance Foundation organization and the teens of Maine Township.

• Submit your 'Neighbors in the News' items to Norrine Twohey at ntwohey@dailyherald.com.