Schaumburg photo selected for nationwide calendar
People from all over the area are beginning to descend on Schaumburg for the Christmas shopping season, but next September people from all over the country will be seeing a very different side of the village.
A photo by village employee Rob Pileckis of Schaumburg’s bucolic fountain in Town Square has been chosen for September in the National League of Cities’ 2013 calendar.
“I’m more than happy to be called ‘Mr. September’ from here on out,” laughed Pileckis, who is production supervisor of the village’s Prairie Center for the Arts. “We’re happy to show off Schaumburg’s picturesque side.”
The theme of the National League of Cities’ 2013 calendar is “Open Space and/or Natural Beauty in Your Community.”
Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson hopes to be able to pick up some early copies of the calendar when he attends the league’s annual conference next week in Boston.
“It’s great to be able to have those bragging rights,” Larson said.
The mayor had high praise for the photographic skills of the multi-talented Pileckis, as well as how well they showed off all the important elements of Town Square in one shot.
“I think his picture kind of captures what we were trying to do at Town Square,” Larson said. “Rob has done so much. He’s a playwright, an artist and does great work with a camera. He even makes me look good in some photos, and that’s hard to do.”
Pileckis’ photo, as well as two others the village submitted, were not taken specifically for the contest but were recent additions to its photo archive. He felt his photo — depicting leaves beginning to change color — strongly represented autumn and likely is why it was selected for September.
Schaumburg Director of Community Services Kathleen Tempesta said the photos submitted were originally taken for possible use on the village’s website, publications or promotional material for businesses.
The village’s other two entries — showing off the wildlife habitat of Olde Schaumburg Centre Park and the award-winning native landscaping around the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center — were taken by Community Development Department employees Martha Dooley and Todd Wenger respectively.