Neighbors in the News
• Pamela Rodriguez of Elk Grove Village was named president of Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities (TASC), a statewide criminal justice advocacy and service organization. Rodriguez, who moves up from the post of executive vice president, will manage a $20 million per year operation with 335 employees across 12 regional offices in Illinois.
Rodriguez began her career at TASC in 1982, and has directed nearly every aspect of the agency. Additionally, she is actively involved in numerous federal, state and local initiatives to improve opportunities for young people and to reduce the disproportionate percentages of minorities in the justice system. Rodriguez was appointed by the U.S. executive branch in 2007, to serve on a national council on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention.
• Jennifer A Linsenmeyer, daughter of Patricia Linsenmeyer of West Chicago and Timothy Linsenmeyer of Bartlett, received the Peggy Elaine Grein Scholarship given by the University of Illinois, College of Education.
Linsenmeyer, a four-year James Scholar Honors and dean's list student, is employed by University Residential Life as a desk clerk and Dining Services as a student supervisor. After graduation, she plans to become a special-education teacher at the high school level, teaching functional life and job skills to students with moderate to severe disabilities. She enjoys photography, travel, volunteering and time spent with family and friends.
• Assistant principal of student activities at John Hersey High School John Novak was named 2009 Activity Director of the Year by the Illinois Directors of Student Activities (ISDA). Novak, who was nominated by a variety of colleagues from across District 214, was honored for exemplary contributions to student activities programs.
Annually, the ISDA honors exceptionally skillful and dedicated individuals who play an active role in promoting the culture and climate of the school community. Novak was honored Sunday, Nov. 15, at the ISDA Convention awards banquet, at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles.
• Hanover Township trustee Sandra Westlund-Deenihan won the Association of Illinois Township Committees on Youth (AITCOY) 2009 Township Friend of Youth award.
The AITCOY award is presented to an elected township official serving an AITCOY organization who has shown an outstanding commitment to youth. Westlund-Deenihan serves as the Hanover Township Trustee liaison to the Youth and Family Services Committee on Youth (YFS-COY) and has worked to develop services and programs to ensure residents receive the level of services and support necessary to build a prosperous community.
• Des Plaines resident John Pappas will spend a year in Afghanistan working at the Bagram Air Base with AECOM Technoloby Corporation. Pappas, who recently completed six months in Iraq working with KBR, an American engineering and construction company, is no stranger to the military and travel abroad. He joined the Navy when he was 18 and was eventually stationed in Vietnam for two 14-month tours.
• Send your Neighbor in the News items to ntwohey@dailyherald.com.