Schaumburg man among local heroes honored in Hoffman Estates

A Schaumburg man with a Cary-based woodworking business was among several local heroes honored Tuesday by Brookdale Hoffman Estates Senior Living for his donation of time and work to two area hospitals.

Michael Minch took on the efforts benefiting St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates and Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital near Lake Barrington even as he was facing medical challenges of his own, said Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod, who nominated him.

"I don't care who you are or how bad your situation is, someone has it worse than you," Minch said.

He repaired and refinished a wooden bench he'd seen in poor shape in the lobby area of St. Alexius, where his mother, Jeanette, had been a patient, and built a new wood table now being used in the surgical waiting room area of Good Shepherd, where he'd been a patient himself.

"I felt like it was almost my duty to do this for them," Minch said.

Because Good Shepherd had just undergone a major renovation and wasn't in need of anything being refinished, he spoke with the leadership team there about his desire to custom build something.

Minch also donated a Wii video gaming system to the pediatric department at Good Shepherd.

Mike Ratchford, executive director of Brookdale Hoffman Estates, said the event at which Minch was honored has become an annual tradition there, inspired by the heroes of Sept. 11, 2001. The 16 local heroes were nominated by various officials and agencies in the Hoffman Estates community.

Among them were eight members of the Hoffman Estates Fire Department, two Hoffman Estates police officers and two members of Elk Grove Village-based Kenneth Young Center, which provides behavioral health and older adult services.

Minch was McLeod's personal pick and was introduced by the mayor.

Minch began woodworking back in high school and received three scholarships to attend a custom cabinet and furniture-making school, for which he traveled from Schaumburg to Florida. He is now president of Creative Custom Interiors in Cary.