MainStreet Libertyville honors volunteers and business owners at 2024 annual meeting

MainStreet Libertyville recently honored its members, volunteers, and sponsors at its 2024 Annual Meeting at O’Toole’s Libertyville.

As a volunteer-based, 501(c)3 nonprofit, MainStreet Libertyville relies on community support to achieve its mission and goals. More than 100 community members gathered to celebrate the organization’s work.

This year’s Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Dan De Rose, who consistently has volunteered for Car Fun on 21 over the past 20 years.

“I’ve been a car enthusiast most of my life; I was excited to help,” said De Rose.

Volunteer of the Year is awarded in memory of Michael E. Godwin, in recognition of outstanding leadership, dedication and commitment to the principles that guide MainStreet Libertyville.

“We are so fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who work very hard to keep downtown Libertyville a wonderful place to dine, shop, play, and live. In 2023, volunteers provided more than 3,200 service hours valued at over $100,000,” said Executive Director Jennifer Johnson.

Shelly Malizola, owner of Allure Designs Salon + Boutique, received the Dom Lentini Downtown Business of the Year award, in memory of a longtime downtown business owner who was an avid supporter of MainStreet Libertyville. The award is presented each year to a downtown business owner for exceptional leadership and dedication to the promotion and benefit of the downtown community following the principles of MainStreet Libertyville.

“This award means so much to my team. The last few years have been incredibly challenging, but it has made me realize how committed our community is to its small businesses,” Malizola said. “MainStreet’s support and mission to strengthen historic downtowns has helped us grow every year. MainStreet-sponsored events and marketing help add to our overall retail sales each year.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Kristine Knutson, owner of How Impressive!, honoring her dedication to MainStreet Libertyville, her kind and giving spirit, and her accomplishments as a highly revered downtown business owner and Libertyville community member.

This year’s honorees also included Jessica Brown, owner of Clementine Early Childhood Community; Anmol Chandock, owner of Singh’s Kitchen; Michael Winter, owner of The UPS Store #1319 and volunteer Veronica Sloma.

MainStreet Libertyville also celebrated the Oktoberfest Planning Committee. Oktoberfest in Libertyville was recognized with the Lt. Governor’s Award for Excellence in Revitalization for Organization. This award is one of the most notable recognitions for Illinois Main Street communities to achieve for bringing economic prosperity to their communities. Oktoberfest in Libertyville is planned in conjunction with the GLMV Chamber of Commerce and Mickey Finn’s Brewery and is one of the four festivals of Libertyville.

The 2024 MainStreet Libertyville board members also were announced: Mark Anderson, Andi Colosi, Alejandra Dominguez, Brian Enochs, Beth Gallery, Ben Lovinger, Jim Malecha, Cindy McGarrigle, Bruce Ponsaran and Kate Vittore.

With the help of community volunteers, MainStreet Libertyville hosts more than 55 days of community and retail events each year to support the economic vitality of historic downtown Libertyville. For more information, visit mainstreetlibertyville.org.