From junior high to seniors, Schaumburg honors village’s top volunteers

Tuesday’s winners of Schaumburg’s annual Volunteer of the Year Awards demonstrated that giving back to one’s community can be meaningful and effective at any age.

Meanwhile, keynote speaker Steve Beauchamp, co-CEO of Schaumburg-based Paylocity, explained how employees volunteering for causes of their choosing strengthens engagement with the company’s culture, including in a hybrid working environments.

A panel of judges selected longtime Spring Valley Nature Center & Heritage Farm volunteers Tony and Sandy Meo as winners in the adult Volunteer of the Year category, Robert Frost Junior High seventh grader Ericka Serio in the youth category, and the Schaumburg Community Garden Club in the organization category.

“In the long history of community volunteer support at Spring Valley Nature Center & Heritage Farm, there have been no other volunteers that can match the tenure and contributions of Sandy and Tony Meo,” wrote their nominator David Brooks. “They have jointly contributed well over 15,000 hours over 40+ years to support Spring Valley. Even as age has impacted their energy to participate, it has not dampened their enthusiasm.”

At the other end of the age spectrum, Ericka Serio was nominated for the youth category by Robert Frost faculty member Gerritt Snyder. He wrote of her involvement with the school’s Interact Club and the connections that has created with the Schaumburg Rotary Club A.M., the Encore Village of Schaumburg retirement community and needy families across the village.

“Ericka is well on her way to becoming one of the next generation’s responsible and productive citizens. Ericka Serio is ‘Service Above Self,’” Snyder wrote.

The achievements of the Schaumburg Community Garden Club were spotlighted by nominator Sue Noller. Among them are maintaining the Schaumburg Township Heritage Garden and the Schweikher House gardens, holding a native plant sale to raise funds and educate the public, raising fresh produce for the Schaumburg and Hanover township food pantries, and being a community resource on gardening and other environmental know-how.

“The Schaumburg Community Garden Club was started 35 years ago by residents of Schaumburg who shared a love of plants and gardening,” Noller wrote. “The members volunteer between 2,000-3,000 hours a year to benefit the residents of Schaumburg and the surrounding area.”

Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly said communities like Schaumburg “don’t survive and thrive as we do without the volunteers.”

In his keynote address, Beauchamp spoke of the dual benefits of volunteerism within the business world — both the external community and a company’s workplace culture. He said the key is allowing employees the freedom and time to choose their own causes.

“Our secret sauce has been creating a great environment for our employees to feel successful,” Beauchamp said. “We want to be an enabler. Gen Z has really changed the way they think about work, and it’s really blended with their life.”

He said it’s rare to find anyone not interested in giving back to their community. By encouraging it at work, an employee can feel passionate about that company’s corporate mission as well.

“You also get the benefit of employees wanting to help each other,” Beauchamp said. “You’re going to see that passion come through at work. It will pay dividends.”