Arlington Heights Rotarian earns prestigious volunteer award

Wendy Miller Davis of Arlington Heights received Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women's prestigious Carolyn Helman Lichtenberg Crest Award, presented annually to distinguished alumnae of Pi Beta Phi who exhibit excellence and outstanding leadership in their career or volunteer service to their communities. Miller Davis has been a member of Rotary International for seven years. She volunteers for numerous programs including Jobseekers at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Rotary Reads and is involved with a Rotarian-sponsored school in Guatemala and Rotary's work to eliminate polio worldwide. She also volunteers with Heifer International. Miller Davis has been a member of the Arlington Heights Alumnae Club of Pi Beta Phi for 40 years. She has held every leadership position in the club including president and served as an adviser for the Pi Beta Phi chapter at Northwestern University.

• Neil Warnygora, executive director at Covenant Village of Northbrook, marked his 30th anniversary with Skokie-based Covenant Retirement Communities. Warnygora's career with Covenant began in 1986 at sister community Bethany Covenant Village, in Minneapolis. He served as health care administrator until accepting the position of associate administrator at Covenant Village of Northbrook, in 1992. In 2000, he was appointed Covenant Village of Northbrook's executive director, the community's longest-serving leader in 52 years. Warnygora, a 24-year Northbrook resident, is a member of the Northbrook Chamber of Commerce and the Life Services Network of Illinois.

• Aide Hernandez, a senior at Wheeling High School, received the Joseph Adams $2,000 scholarship given by the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. Hernandez is one of 12 students chosen from across the country who have shown high achievement in Spanish throughout high school. She successfully passed both the Advanced Placement Spanish Language and Spanish Literature exams in her junior year. In addition, Hernandez serves as a student classroom helper in English Language Learner classes and volunteers at District 214's summer transitional ELL program. She is also the editor-in-chief of the Spanish section of Wheeling High School's newspaper called "La Voz."

• Appollo Chorus member Patrick Muehleise of Hoffman Estates will be the featured soloist on Saturday, March 12, when the Appollo Chorus in collaboration with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra performs the choral classic Mendelssohn's "Elijah" at Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago. The Appollo Chorus, Chicago's oldest musical organization, founded in 1872 in the aftermath of the Great Chicago Fire, performs pre-eminent choral works at premier venues.

• Karisa Chiu of Palatine placed first in the Elmhurst Symphony Association's Dr. Robert Stanger Young Artists Audition for 2016. The event showcased 22 outstanding high school musicians. Chiu, a violinist who is home-schooled, auditioned with the Violin Concerto in d minor, opus 47, Movement 1 by Sibelius. As the first place winner, she will perform with the Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra at a subscription concert during its 2016-17 season.

• Send your 'Neighbor in the News' items to Norrine Twohey at ntwohey@dailyherald.com.