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The Hundred Club of Lake County wants to raise awareness of its mission

The Hundred Club of Lake County is a charitable group that has no employees, operates under the radar and fortunately has not had to fulfill its primary mission in nearly 28 years.

But with membership at half strength and the recent deaths of 19 firefighters in Arizona as a reminder of how quickly those who serve the public can be stricken, the organization is stepping out.

“We would like to get it out that we do exist,” said Dennis Mudd, a Libertyville resident who in 1979 founded the organization that offers financial assistance to families of police and fire personnel killed in the line of duty.

The club is patterned after similar groups throughout the country. Among them is the 100 Club of Chicago, which offers assistance to the families of police and firefighters in Cook County.

That group was noted recently with the July 22 death of actor Dennis Farina, a former Chicago police detective. Instead of flowers, his family asked that donations in his memory be made to 100 Club of Chicago.

The Lake County club is looking for new and younger members, Mudd said.

“We were up to 150 members, but because of retirements and movement and so forth, we’re down to 75,” according to Mudd.

The organization also funds scholarships for dependents of Lake County police and firefighters. With up to 16 students at a given time, the reserves are being drained, he added.

Mudd, who owned a moving and storage company, said he has always had a “soft spot” for police and fire personnel. Working in Cook County, he became a member of that organization but decided to form the Lake County version after realizing there was nothing closer to home.

The idea was if a police officer or firefighter were killed in the line of duty, club members would deliver a check to the family to cover immediate expenses. An assessment of each family’s situation would be made, and longer-range assistance with expenses such as mortgages, car payments and utility bills would follow.

The purpose was tested almost immediately in 1980, when rookie North Chicago police officer David Doering was gunned down while on patrol. The next year, Samuel Taylor, assistant fire chief in Winthrop Harbor, died of a heart attack while fighting a house fire. In early 1984, Highland Park police officer Robert Reimann was killed in a crash, and in 1985, Waukegan fire Lt. Franklin Mercer died of injuries while fighting a fire.

Several early members came from large local companies, such as Abbott Labs, Mudd said. Funding comes from individuals and corporations.

“When it started out, we had such a positive response to a terrible situation,” he said.

There have been no deaths in the line of duty in Lake County since, but the organization realizes that could change in an instant.

“We’ve just been very fortunate,” said Mudd, who for many years has been the chaplain for the Libertyville fire and police departments, the Lake County sheriff’s office and Illinois State Police districts 2 and 15.

Annual dues are $150, although those younger than 35 can become associate members for $50. Correspondence should be sent to the P.O. Box 163, Libertyville, 60048 or dmuddsr@comcast.net or by calling (847) 247-9173.

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