Former Buffalo Grove trustee wins service award named for mentor

DeAnn Glover's 16 years on the Buffalo Grove Village Board would never have happened if not for the encouragement of another former trustee, the late Bill Reid.

So it is only fitting that Glover was honored this week by the village board for receiving the Bill Reid Community Service Award, presented annually to the business, individual or organization that exemplifies the values of community volunteerism and spirit.

“Bill was my mentor. He was also my very best friend. So I'm honored,” Glover said. “I'm also very humbled because I always thought the Bill Reid award was for other people, not for me. This is the best award I could ever win.”

The award was established by the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove in 2001 to remember Reid, who was known as “Mr. Buffalo Grove” for his long record of service that included a 17-year tenure on the village board.

Glover's accomplishments go beyond just her time on the board, her friends and colleagues said. She helped organize the village's annual Buffalo Grove Days festival for two decades and is active in both the local Rotary chapter and the Buffalo Grove Area Chamber of Commerce.

“She is a wonderful person,” Village President Jeffrey Braiman said. “She has been a wonderful asset to the community for years. She has given much of her life toward our community, and I think it's justified and appropriate that she was given the Bill Reid award, as she was so close with Bill.”

The award carries with it a $500 donation to Rotary in her name as well as a donation to the winner's chosen charity. Glover said she will be donating $250 to the Pink Heals Campaign to raise cancer awareness.

For Glover, the cause is personal. It was during Buffalo Grove Days weekend 12 years ago that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“It was hard. But I'm cancer free 11 years,” she said. “I'm one of the lucky ones.”

Her close friend John Green, himself a former recipient of the Reid award, called Glover “special” for maintaining her commitment to the community.

“She has never, ever stepped away from doing what she can do and wants to do for the community,” he said, “Nor does she do it with anything but heart and soul.”

Glover, who stepped down this year after serving four terms on the village board, said she misses the board and considers the trustees her friends as well as colleagues.

“It has been such an honor to serve this village for the last 16 years as a village trustee,” she said. “I hope I have done a good job. I have tried to do the best for the village as a whole.”