Mundelein resident honored for volunteering in blizzard, other projects
A Mundelein woman who helped care for motorists stranded in February’s blizzard was honored as an outstanding citizen of the village Monday.
Kay Dickman, 73, received a framed certificate and a standing ovation from town officials and an audience full of supporters at the village board’s meeting.
The local honor comes about a month after Dickman, 73, was named Senior Citizen Volunteer of the Year by the Illinois State TRIAD, a group of law-enforcement officials and representatives of senior-citizen groups that aims to reduce crimes against older people.
“She’s tireless in her service to the community,” Police Chief Raymond J. Rose said during Monday’s presentation. “Kay doesn’t spend a lot of time talking. She spends a lot of time doing.”
Dickman has spent many hours volunteering with a variety of programs since retiring from her job as an assistant risk manager with what is now Advocate Condell Medical Center about four years ago.
Dickman has gone through the local citizens and senior citizens police academies several times, participated in the annual A-May-Zing Mundelein community cleanup efforts, assists with the Shop With a Cop holiday program and is a member of the town’s Community Emergency Response Team, which helps police officers and firefighters during crises. And those are just a few of the projects on her volunteer resume.
“I just felt like it was time, once I retired, to give back to the community,” Dickman told the Daily Herald before the ceremony. “There are all kinds of (volunteer) opportunities there, if people just know about them. Everybody can do something.”
Dickman’s CERT participation thrust her into duty during early February’s blizzard. Heavy snow and drifts made many Mundelein-area roads impassible, trapping countless drivers in their cars on Route 83 and other streets.
The crisis team was called into action to help victims of the storm, but Dickman’s street hadn’t been cleared. So she got a ride on a fire truck to the main fire station, where she and other volunteers helped shelter and feed about 25 people overnight.
“We had food, we had sleeping bags, and we utilized (them),” Dickman recalled. “We were able to respond and take care of the situation.”
Rose nominated Dickman for the TRIAD award.
“Kay is committed to making a difference in the lives of others, and she truly reflects the real spirit of volunteerism,” Rose wrote in his nominating letter. “Mundelein is lucky to have her as a resident.”