League honors women in military with luncheon
The gunnery ranges on the Sonoran Desert, in southwest Arizona, are a long way from the Northwest suburbs, but that's where Cheryl Tynczuk found herself, mid-way through her seven years serving in the Air Force.
Tynczuk worked in base operations at the former auxiliary air station located near the town of Gila Bend, where Air Force fighter pilots practiced their combat training and even dog fights in the air.
Part of Tynczuk's job was to go out onto the range, located in the middle of the desert, to assess their target results.
Pretty exciting stuff for Tynczuk, a Schaumburg High School graduate, who originally set out to major in fashion design and merchandising at Harper College.
"It was exciting and glamorous in a lot of ways, but there was also a lot of work and responsibility," says Tynczuk, now a landscape architect with the Palatine Park District. "I learned a lot and gained some valuable experience, and grew up, which is what I needed at the time."
Tynczuk is one of three local women who will headline a luncheon next month devoted to "Honoring Women in the Military." Members of the Palatine chapter of the League of Women Voters are hosting the event.
Lynn Rymarz of Schaumburg serves as program chair for the League. Three years ago the group set out to host a luncheon honoring women in politics, she says, but with the November timing, they switched to women in the military, and they haven't looked back.
"It has been an inspiration to see the women who have come to be our speakers the last two years," Rmyarz says. "Our main goal is to lift up women who have served our country. We believe their stories should be remembered and shared with others."
League members aimed to represent various branches of the military in their speakers, as well as conflicts in which they served.
Jacqueline Blount of Palatine served in the military most recently, having retired from the U.S. Coast Guard reserves in 2002 after a 29-year career.
Her installations took her from coast to coast, from Petaluma, Calif., to Yorktown, Va., all while serving as a yeoman, or administrative personnel in the reserves.
"If I had known then about all the opportunity in the military, especially in the Coast Guard," Blount says, "I'd have made it a career."
Caroline Heart of Arlington Heights served in the Marine Corps during World War II, repairing gyroscopic instruments that came out of damaged planes, at Quantico Air Station in Virginia.
"There were other women who worked on the engines, and others that repaired the planes," Heart says. "It's not like today. We never trained for warfare, but we did the work that men normally do, in order to send the planes back."
As an added bonus, guests will meet members of the Palatine-based Yellow Ribbon Support Group, who send wish list items to deployed military personnel. They will have pre-packed care packages there, if individuals wish to donate the shipping.
If you go
What: Veteran's Day Thank You Luncheon: Honoring Women in the Military, featuring stories of three local veterans
When: 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8
Where: Chandler's Banquets at the Schaumburg Golf Course, 401 N. Roselle Road, Schaumburg
Cost: $30; respond by Wednesday, Oct. 29
Call: (847) 891-2813