People we want to thank in the Fox Valley

What are you thankful for?

It's a question that gets passed around the dinner table on Thanksgiving Day, along with the turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

For some, health is at the top of the list. Others may be thankful for family, for their job, or keeping their financial ship afloat in trying times.

This holiday, the Daily Herald is taking a look at thankfulness, but with a twist. We're bringing you stories of people who have made a difference - in their communities, in the lives of others.

These neighbors of ours, whether through hours of work or selfless acts, are truly people we can be thankful for, and who serve as an inspiration.

More stories about local heroes will appear Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Campton Hills Police Chief Greg Anderson

Campton Hills officials say they're thankful for outgoing Police Chief Greg Anderson, who spent the last two years building the village's police force.

Campton Hills officials say they're thankful for outgoing Police Chief Greg Anderson, who spent the last two years building the village's police force.

Anderson, who was hired as the village's first police officer after its incorporation in May 2007, set a tone of community interaction and proactive police work that will be tough to follow, officials said.

"He isn't a typical police chief. He's been an inspiration," village trustee Jim Kopec said. "He likes to be able to work with people and to solve problems before they become problems. We hope we'll find (a replacement) who has a similar, proactive philosophy."

Anderson came to Campton Hills from the Aurora Police Department, where he held a variety of administrative positions over 27 years, including patrol commander and deputy chief.

In Campton Hills, Anderson, 52, grew the force to six full-time officers, nine part-time officers and five patrol vehicles. He also launched an e-mail alert system to keep citizens' informed on local crime, and a popular program offering additional neighborhood patrols when a homeowner is on vacation or otherwise out of the area.

"I would like to think I've got a wonderful relationship with people in Campton Hills," Anderson said. "For a small town, I think we did a great job providing communication above and beyond what probably a lot of departments do."

Anderson is expected to remain with the village through the end of the year to help the transition to his successor before taking the reins as police chief in Oak Forest.

"I've committed to help Campton Hills through it's transition period in any way I can," he said. "The people of Campton Hills have been fair to me, and I want to be fair in return."

-- Josh Stockinger

Batavia High School cheerleaders

Thirteen World War II veterans will get free trips to see the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., thanks to the Batavia High School varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads.

The 42 cheerleaders raised $6,700 Nov. 4 with "Flippin' and Flyin'," a tumbling and cheer stunts exhibition at their annual open house.

Each girl asked members of the Batavia community to sponsor her for the event, vowing to collect at least $100 each.

The charity was chosen by their coach, Lynette Olexa. She thought the girls should do something for veterans for their annual service project, and somebody directed her to Honor Flight.

"I watched the video, I got choked up. I thought 'This is it. This is what we have to do,'" Olexa said.

The cheerleaders have raised money for charity for five years - "because Batavia is good to us," Olexa said.

The projects also help the girls.

"These young athletes need to become part of their community," she said.

A representative of Honor Flight came out to speak to the girls about the program. Veterans are taken on one-day trips to see the memorial. It costs about $500 a person.

"The kids learned so much about veterans," Olexa said.

In previous years, the cheerleaders donated $6,000 to buy sensory tables for the Early Childhood Center at Alice Gustafson Elementary School, and volunteered in the classrooms. They raised money for Elderday Center, visited the care program weekly to play games with the clients and arranged to have the clients ride in the homecoming parade - "that one was pretty fun," Olexa said.

They gave $5,000 to a Batavia group home for developmentally disabled women, so the residents could have a computer system with adaptive devices.

"Those gals still come to our basketball games," Olexa said.

And cheerleaders raised $4,500 to buy a special bicycle for a disabled boy.

"They're normal kids. They do normal things. But they are really a good group," Olexa said.

-- Susan Sarkauskas

Paula Grocke, U-46 administrative assistant

As a reporter, locating sources on a short deadline can be one of the most heart-pounding, sometimes frustrating, aspects of the job.

Paula Grocke, a receptionist in Elgin Area School District U-46's communications office, has helped me out more times than I can count.

On a daily basis, she helps harried reporters track down district officials, set up photos and school visits, and serves as a secretary for district spokesman Tony Sanders.

She's always cheerful. Helpful. Patient with the most inane requests.

There was even a week last fall where she had bronchitis, yet she squawked through the phone, helping me find information on high school ACT scores.

Grocke, a lifelong Elgin resident, was a part of the state's second-largest school district long before she worked there.

Her parents were U-46 alums, and she attended McKinley Elementary School, Larsen Middle School, and Elgin High School, before heading to Elgin Community College.

"I'll soon be an institution myself, I guess," Grocke laughs.

After her four children went through school in U-46, Grocke began working for the district's human resources department, moving to the communications office five years ago.

These are her last few weeks on the job. She'll retire at the end of January.

With her husband still working, Grocke says she has no immediate plans - other than cleaning up her basement and spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Thanks, Paula. We'll miss you.

-- Kerry Lester

Jill Harris, West Dundee fest organizer

When West Dundee resident Jill Harris browsed through the village's calendar of events earlier this year, she noticed the dates were largely blank except for the village's staples like Heritage Fest and Dickens in Dundee.

Like many people, Harris wanted something to do while staying close to home, except there were not too many options. The lack of cheap local activities for families prompted Harris to organize six events throughout the summer and ended with a Halloween party.

"I felt like the town needed a boost," Harris said. "The economy was so bad and I was down so I thought maybe everyone else is down, too. We really needed a pick-me-up and that's why I started these events."

While village leaders and residents praised Harris for her commitment to the village, the mother of two said the events would not have been a success without the help of her husband, Duane, and the support of her family.

"I have to be thankful for my husband and family for being so supportive in all of these things that I came up with," said Harris, who organized a massive water balloon fight in Grafelman Park, a dog show and a kite flying day.

"They were there to help and pitch in. I am also thankful for the village for letting me step forward and running with my ideas."

The village acknowledged Harris' hard work by inviting her family to serve as grand marshals for the Dickens in Dundee parade on Saturday, Dec. 5.

"Julie's level of enthusiasm and sense of community is something this village hasn't seen in a number of years," Village Manager Joe Cavallaro said. "The events were a minimal cost and very community-oriented."

"When you have people like Jill, you want to reward and encourage them."

-- Larissa Chinwah

Kelley Hopkins and Lauren Carr, hospice volunteers

Kelley Hopkins and Lauren Carr could have volunteered to clean a park or sort through items to send to soldiers abroad.

But when the two St. Charles North High School juniors found out about volunteering through the Elgin-based Passages Hospice, they knew they had a good match because the volunteering would be two-way and interactive.

At least once a week, usually on a Saturday, Hopkins and Carr visit three residents at the Rosewood Care Center in St. Charles.

The teens talk with the residents about their kids and grandkids and current events.

Carr even paints one woman's toenails and sometimes the teens bring in ice cream.

Hopkins, 16, said both sides end up feeling good at the end.

"It's a really great program for people in high school and younger people. Giving back to elderly people and making their day better and letting them know people are thinking of them, we just enjoy it so much," Hopkins said.

The pair found out about the opportunity from a friend's mom who works as a nurse for Passages.

"It gives you a really good feeling. We look forward to it and connecting with the people. It's amazing," said Carr, 16. "It's a really good life experience. It gives you a lot of perspective."

The pair said they will continue volunteering through Passages through at least the school year.

"At first, I didn't know if I could do it. '(I thought) that's going to be too sad.' You want them to be as happy as possible, to help them enjoy their last few months is good," Hopkins said.

"This is the first (volunteer) program I've been a part of. I love it. I knew I'd like it. I'm happy that Passages offered this experience."

-- Harry Hitzeman

Marty Jordan, St. Charles man who saved children

When the Jordan family in St. Charles sits down together this Thanksgiving, they'll be missing one of the key elements that made the holidays, and every day, events to be thankful for.

Marty Jordan, 45, drowned on Aug. 1 in a final act of heroism while rescuing family members from turbulent waves in Lake Michigan that surely would've resulted in the loss of many young lives if not for his determination to save them.

On this Thanksgiving, Jordan's children and relatives will be thankful they are alive and had someone who loved them enough to give his own life for theirs.

"He really was a great guy," said Pat McHugh, a childhood friend of Jordan's. "Everybody he met just loved him."

One person who never met Jordan is his unborn child. Jordan's wife Maureen is set to welcome the couple's fourth child this coming March.

On May 15, at St. Patrick High School in Chicago, that new baby will have a chance to witness just how much his or her father meant to the people who knew him. A benefit that night will help raise money for the family Jordan left behind.

Even though the event is six months away, McHugh and the other organizers of the event have already seen enough response that they expect to easily fill the 1,500 seat auditorium and overflow room with people who will gather to remember Jordan.

"We know we can't bring Marty back, but we can help his family and make sure people don't forget him," McHugh said.

For more information about the benefit, contact information to get involved, or information on how to donate to the cause, visit: www.martyjordanfamilybenefit.com

-- James Fuller

Suzanne Knapp, restored Fox River Grove cemetery

Suzanne Knapp, 69, of Fox River Grove, has always had a fascination with history.

After all, Knapp is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution's Arlington Heights chapter, a group that offers membership to those who can trace their families back to people who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Ten years ago, Knapp decided she'd take on the difficult project of restoring the Oak Glen/Chunn Burial Ground, located in the oldest section of Fox River Grove.

The burial ground, home to 171 graves, including one of a Civil War veteran, was in dire straits, filled with broken bottles and gravestones, box springs, beds and overgrown plants.

Together, Knapp and her friend Linda Stengele cleaned the burial ground and had Algonquin Township plow it.

Workers also put the tombstones in a walled-up area to protect them from vandals.

They arranged for the government to rededicate and provide a stone bearing the name of John Kelly, the Union Army soldier buried there.

The women tried researching the burial ground's history, but have come up empty thus far - some of the earliest settlers in McHenry County and Fox River Grove made the cemetery their final resting place.

It is now a historic site in the county.

"We're just doing it for the people who are below the ground, if not the people who are above the ground," Knapp said. "I don't think anybody should be buried and forgotten."

For her efforts, Knapp received the Illinois Humanities Council's Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award last Thursday - Stengle won it in 2002.

The award also made note of all the work Knapp did promoting and categorizing the history of the Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove, the country's oldest, continuously run ski club.

"She actually was the main person that kept that thing going through the lean years," said Fox River Grove Village President Robert Nunamaker, who nominated Knapp for the award. "She held that place together."

For her part, Knapp said she experienced heart palpitations when she realized she'd won.

"It threw me for a complete loop," Knapp said of the honor. "The mayor just called me one night and said 'Here you go, you're it.'"

-- Lenore T. Adkins

Bruce Taylor, Dundee-Crown 'microlending' pioneer

A recent report from Harvard University says Pakistan misused much of the billions in U.S. aid the country received since 2001.

The Washington Post this month reported allegations that an Afghan minister accepted a $30 million bribe to award a development contract to a Chinese firm.

In hopes of circumventing corrupt third-world bureaucrats, a teacher and a group of students at Dundee-Crown High School have started a project at the school to put money directly in the hands of people who need it.

Bruce Taylor, the social studies and science teacher who launched the effort, didn't actually come up with the idea. That credit goes to Kiva, an online charity that allows people to make small loans, or "microloans," directly to entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Last year, Taylor, who already had a Kiva account of his own, introduced microlending to Dundee-Crown, a Carpentersville school that itself serves many disadvantaged families.

"I just realized it could be a big benefit to kids at our school," said Taylor, a 1998 graduate of Kankakee High School. "It would make them feel a part of something bigger than themselves."

So far, students at Dundee-Crown have made 65 loans totaling $4,000, much of that going to women in Central and South America, Taylor said.

Among the loan recipients are a 64-year-old woman who runs an empanada catering business in Peru, a 28-year-old man who started a food market in Ecuador and a 59-year-old farmer who needs fertilizer to improve his crop yields.

The business owners repay the money interest-free, usually within six months, and the students reinvest the money in other small ventures.

"We're not just giving them the money," said Jennifer Mondragon, a senior involved in the effort. "We're helping them start a new life."

Many of the students have been able to relate to the people they lend to because of their shared Hispanic ancestry and, in some cases, their own struggles with poverty.

"It's been really humbling to see these students who have the least are willing to give the most," Taylor said. "They know exactly what we're trying to stop."

The students hope to raise enough money to be able to visit some of the families they have helped through their club, Seeds of Change.

They credit Taylor, who along with other teachers donated hundreds of dollars in seed money, with laying the groundwork for their success.

"If he hadn't started out with (his) story, we wouldn't have been doing this," senior Yvette Argueta said.

To donate to the microlending project, contact Taylor at bruce.taylor@d300.org or visit kiva.org/lender/seedsofchange.

-- Jameel Naqvi