Arlington Hts. man honored at North Central College

타 North Central College honored James Will of Arlington Heights by adding his name to its Wall of Witness. Will and four others were honored during the college’s Sesquicentennial Convocation Friday, Nov. 11, at North Central College’s Wentz Concert Hall at the Fine Arts Center.

North Central College’s Wall of Witness recognizes alumni whose lives have embodied the values of the college’s mission and heritage. Names of honorees are displayed in Kiekhofer Hall, which houses the college’s Koten Chapel.

Will has served as a youth director and pastor. He taught religion at North Central College, was professor of philosophical theology at Evangelical Theological Seminary and professor of systematic theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where he also was director of the Peace and Justice Center.

He has been a visiting professor or lecturer at nine universities or colleges in the United States, Israel, Poland and Zimbabwe. He has served as consultant to church leaders in East/West relations, written more than 40 articles for various journals and wrote four books. His career and publications have focused his ecumenical witness on peace and justice issues in the United States and around the world.

타 Christine Pacyk, a Wheeling High School English teacher, captured first place in the Emerging Writers Gwendolyn Brooks Poetry Award competition, which identifies outstanding Illinois emerging poets and fiction writers.

The sponsors for this competition include the Illinois Center for the Book, the Illinois State Library, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White and the Illinois Poet Laureate.

Pacyk will be honored at an awards ceremony Thursday, Nov. 17, in Springfield. Her poem will also be recorded, so that it can be added to the Illinois Poet Laureate website.

타 Palatine attorney Kerry Lavelle, founding partner of Lavelle Law, Ltd., will participate on a panel discussing Tax Fraud at the Illinois CPA Society Fraud Conference Nov. 16, in Chicago.

Lavelle will join a panel with several CPAs and Leigh Roadman, an attorney practicing in the area of tax fraud, to discuss “Tax Fraud: Recognizing, Preventing and Defending It.” The panel will review ways for CPAs, accountants and lawyers to recognize fraudulent activity by taxpayers, how to prevent potential tax fraud and how a tax attorney can defend allegations in both civil and criminal investigations.

타 Danielle Rivard, a John Hersey High School Orchesis member, spent part of her school vacation at the University of Texas at Austin participating in the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive.

American Ballet Theatre’s Summer Intensive, whose mission is to cultivate a universal understanding of the art form at its highest level, has earned a reputation for being the most thorough and rewarding dance experience a student can have during the summer.