Kane sheriff names 3 Citizens of the Year

Three Kane County women devoted to helping those who suffer at home and abroad were honored Thursday with the 2009 Roscoe Ebey Citizen of the Year Award.

This year's recipients were Darlene Marcusson, the founder and executive director of the Lazarus House shelter in St. Charles, and Batavia residents Sarah Giachino and Kathy Tobusch, who provide ongoing support to dozens of local soldiers serving overseas as co-chairs of the nonprofit Fox Valley Troop Support Inc.

"I'm humbled and I'm honored," Giachino said at a ceremony in St. Charles. "We are so incredibly grateful just to be able to do this."

This was the third year Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez has bestowed the awards named after Aurora Township's Roscoe Ebey, an 89-year-old war veteran whose murder in May 2007 shocked neighbors who knew Ebey to be nothing but selfless and kind.

Perez gave the first award to Leslie Fleming, a neighbor of Ebey's who confronted the elderly man's killer and held him until police arrived. He said his intention is to recognize "people doing things to better their communities," like Ebey did.

"If we can take something good and positive (from Ebey's murder), I think Roscoe would want that," Perez said.

He noted Marcusson's "tireless efforts" to serve the homeless and hungry through Lazarus House, a shelter she founded 12 years ago in downtown St. Charles.

"There are entire families in her care," Perez said. "She's teaching people there's a light at the end of the tunnel, there's hope."

Today, Marcusson said, the facility not only provides immediate shelter or a hot meal to dozens of families a year but also subsidizes rent for 47 households working to get back on their feet.

"I'm very honored to receive this award," she said. "I accept it on behalf of a community that opens its arms to those in need. We're so thankful every day ... that we can do so much."

Giachino and Tobusch founded Fox Valley Troop Support Inc. in December 2006 as a way to build support for troops overseas.

Tobusch, whose two sons have served in Iraq, said the organization sends care packages of hygiene products, remote control cars, snack foods and other items to about 30 local soldiers on an ongoing basis. More than 2,000 packages have been sent so far, often times supplemented with letters from school groups and supporters from the Fox Valley.

"We want to make sure our local men and women are not forgotten," Giachino said. "This war is going on nine years now. They're still over there, they still need our support."

"We're hoping to keep up the morale so when they come home they feel like they're still part of our community," Tobusch said.

Rich Ebey, the son of Roscoe Ebey, credited all of Thursday's nominees and winners for carrying on a legacy of community spirit and dedication.

"Every neighborhood has a Roscoe Ebey," he said emotionally. "I'm sure if my Dad could hear us, he'd be honored, too."

For more information about Lazarus House, visit lazarushouseonline.com. For Fox Valley Troop Support, go to fvts.org.