Glenview Park District, Glenview Bank & Trust establish 4-year partnership

When Tim and Donna Thoelecke moved to Glenview in 1962, they did so due to the quality of its schools and its park district.

"As they got settled in, they really learned how fortunate they were to be in a unique community like this," said their son, Jeff.

A 1983 graduate of Glenbrook South, when he was ready to raise his own family Jeff Thoelecke followed his parents' playbook and moved back to Glenview for the same reasons.

"The Glenview Park District was a big part of that," he said.

"When you talk about unique, aside from the parks, pools and the amazing facilities and programs, where else can you find a park district that has a working farm (Wagner Farm) and a national historic landmark like The Grove?"

Now president of Glenview Bank & Trust, Thoelecke is excited about a new, four-year partnership between the bank, a Wintrust Community Bank, and the Glenview Park District.

The partnership will support park district events from 2022-26 including the Bearfoot in the Park concert series, the Fourth of July fireworks, the 3v3 Summer Soccer Fest, the Firecracker Classic golf outing and the Park Center's annual Sprint Triathlon.

"I've been around here a long time, and when we had an opportunity to partner like this I was just thrilled," Thoelecke said. "That actually aligns with what we want to do as a company - and that comes from the top of the house."

The partnership was made official on April 1. It will affect more than 1.7 million park district programs and participants.

To commemorate the new partnership as well as Community Banking Month, a kickoff event will be held from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 23, in the lobby of the Park Center, 2400 Chestnut Ave.

Free and open to the public, people may enjoy complimentary food, drinks, music, games, prizes and giveaways.

Anna Ables, the Glenview Park District's director of Brand Strategies and Community Engagement, said the bank has supported the parks in the past, but not to this extent. Though terms were undisclosed, she said it's the largest sponsorship of its type in Glenview Park District history.

"Knowing this partnership is a little bit longer term helps us plan new and exciting ways to reach our residents, and think about how we can truly partner," she said.

"If there's a program at the bank that they want to highlight, we know the bank is really looking to grow its investment in the Glenview community, so we're excited that the park district is one way that they're going to achieve that goal," Ables said.

Being a business person, and president of a branch that opened relatively recently, in 2015, Thoelecke realizes this partnership will enhance public awareness.

Still, as part of a larger Wintrust family that in 2021 invested $40 million into community service projects and donated more than $10 million to nonprofit companies, Thoelecke said: "This is advancing our brand in the community as a genuine member of the community."

He specifically noted support of the park district's "Leisureship" program, which provides scholarships to some 300 individuals and 100 families annually who otherwise can't afford offerings such as the Camp REC learning program; and the LINK Card program that doubles people's purchasing power at the Glenview Farmers Market.

"It really does kind of touch on everything we do," Ables said.

Thoelecke, of Glenview, likes that.

"I'm so excited about this, and the park district seems to be, too. We're going to do some good things, for sure," he said.