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Generations run Volo's Fish Lake, while generations have returned

When you think of Fish Lake Beach Camping Resort in Volo, you don't often think of a score card. But you'll need one. Not for the visitors to the popular resort. It's for the 75 years and five generations of ownership.

Alfred & Emilie Keil founded the resort in 1939.

To honor their humble beginning, the families will host a 75th anniversary beach party on May 31, as well as other events throughout the summer.

A love for the lake and the resort has kept the business and traditions going. There have been many family members involved.

The founders had a daughter, Yvonne Keil. Yvonne, the second generation, married Delmar Maassel and they had two daughters Yvonne Cheryl, known as YC, and Desiree, now the third generation.

YC is married to Randy Crow and they have two children, Christiana Crow and Joshua Crow, known as the fourth generation.

Christiana is married to Rory Hebel and they have one son, Christopher, the fifth generation.

Desiree married Bob Jung and they have three children, Ryan, Connor and Delaney, part of that fourth generation.

"We lost our mom to cancer 5 years ago, she was the true visionary for Fish Lake and we still often think 'What would mom do?' when making decisions about Fish Lake," Desiree Jung said.

So they're going to honor their founder grandparents by celebrating the 75th anniversary on May 31 with a beach party, including a DJ and dancing on the beach along with games, prizes and birthday cake.

Desiree and YC said that the property was bought by Alfred Keil in 1939 while his wife, Emilie and daughter, Yvonne, were visiting relatives in Switzerland. When Emilie and Yvonne returned, Alfred, then a butcher in Chicago, showed them the "fishing camp" he purchased.

Since then, the property has increased from 40 acres to about 160 acres, including 80 of those acres used for campers. The family is looking to update or change amenities to accommodate visitors who enjoy fishing in the lake or swimming in the pool.

Over the years, guest cabins came and went and tents overtook campsites in the 1960s. Now campsites are checkered with a combination of park homes, recreational vehicles, campers and tents, they said.

Fishing from pier or rowboat, enjoying ice cream or a hot dog at the general store, cooking at campsites and squishing toes in the sand never go out of style, they said.

Paddle boats, outdoor movies, sand volleyball, themed dances under the pavilion, pool games and sitting around a campfire have become tradition.

"The industry is changing again and we're looking into other recreational things," Desiree said. "We want to keep up with the hospitality industry."

YC, a registered nurse, said their family always encouraged the children to find their own path in life, but many still returned to Fish Lake to build their family business.

"I worked during the season and then the other six months as a nurse," YC said. But eventually she became full-time helping out at Fish Lake.

Desiree is an audiologist, but she mostly works at Fish Lake.

"My true love is Fish Lake," said Desiree.

Fabian's century of progress

Max Fabian of Niles marked his 105th birthday March 9 with Lesley and Jim Anixter of Highland Park at Northmoor Country Club in Highland Park and included about 30 friends and business associates. Fabian worked for the Anixter family in 1958 as an administrative assistant and warehouse traffic manager at the Anixter Bros. Inc. electrical wire and cable distribution center in Evanston. After 30 years with Anixter Bros., and after the company was sold to Sam Zell in 1988, he joined Jim Anixter's new wire and cable distribution company, A-Z Wire and Cable in Northbrook. That was when he was 79 and he remained with A-Z until he retired in 2012 at 103.

Sparking up business

Charles and wife Christina Hinton of Oswego recently launched a Mister Sparky electric company in North Aurora. Their service area also includes Aurora, Naperville, St. Charles and Oswego. It offers complete electrical repair, maintenance and installation. Mister Sparky also has an on time guarantee.

FastTrack

South Elgin resident Jennifer Kyung, Zurich North America headquarters business lead, has been named one of nine women honored with a Womenetics 2014 POW Award. Kyung leads the design, development and change management on behalf of the business and employees for Zurich's new North American headquarters in Schaumburg. ... and speaking of Zurich, it's CFO Dalynn Hoch of St. Charles gave a keynote presentation at The Economist's fifth-annual CFO Summit in London. Hoch addressed 120 finance leaders from around the world on growing the CFO role of the future and being a strategic, well-connected partner.

Russ Bergeron, president and CEO of Lisle-based Midwest Real Estate Data, has returned from Washington, D.C., where he participated in the Green Mortgage Appraisal Roundtable. He headed a panel discussion and shared in discussions before the White House Council on Environmental Quality. ... Medical Director Pranjal Shah and Director of Nursing Josie Enriquez have joined the health services team at Oak Trace senior living community in Downers Grove.

Andrew Norstrud is the new chief executive officer at General Employment Enterprises Inc. in Naperville. ... Lois Hanley of Wellbody Massage in Dundee said she has completed advanced coursework in treating low back pain and head, shoulder and neck pain. ... Mack W. Borgen, an Arlington Heights High School graduate and now Santa Barbara, Calif., resident, is the author of the book, "The Relevance of Reason - The Hard Facts and Real Data About the state of Current America Business and Politics."

David J. Endicott has been named president of Hospira medical devices at Lake Forest-based Hospira Inc., a provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies. ... Lou Tenuta, co-founder of Valli Produce in Arlington Heights, Hoffman Estates, Glendale Heights and elsewhere, said the stores and Dietz & Watson collected about $5,000 for the American Cancer Society. ... Don Miller, franchisee of the Merlin in Waukegan, was honored by the company's 2013 2nd Highest Sales Award and a We Care Award at its national conference in Lisle.

Joe Stanhope of Arlington Heights is the new senior vice president of marketing at Chicago-based BrightTag, a provider of cloud-based marketing technologies. ... Jim Spear of Naperville has become a fellow, the highest level of credentialing for corporate directors and corporate governance professionals, from the National Association of Corporate Directors in Washington, D.C. He serves as a director on the boards of Trust Company of Illinois, J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government and Public Policy at Wheaton College, and The Trinity Forum. He also serves as adviser to the audit committee of the board of directors of Flowers Foods.

Peter Lawler of Wilmette is now on the board of directors for the national nonprofit, Good sports. ... U.S. Bank Chicago Market President Marsha Cruzan of Hinsdale has been named to Lyric Opera of Chicago's board of directors. ... Condolences to the Melaniphy family on the death of two well-known consultants, business leaders and brothers who passed away. F.J. "Mel" Melaniphy of Arlington Heights was founder of Site Location Specialists that focused on commercial real estate. Mel passed away Feb. 27, while his brother and retail consultant John Melaniphy Jr. died last week. They were great sources for many local reporters over the years.

•There's more to business than just the bottom line. We want to tell you about the people that make business work. Send news about people in business to akukec@dailyherald.com. Follow Anna Marie Kukec on LinkedIn and Facebook and as AMKukec on Twitter.

Lesley Anixter, from left, Max Fabian and Jim Anixter.
Charles and Christina Hinton
Dalynn Hoch
Jennifer Kyung
Russ Bergeron
Pranjal Shah
Josie Enriquez
David J. Endicott
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