Township of Palatine Service (TOPS) Awards Presented at 170th Annual Town Meeting

The 170th Palatine Township Annual Town Meeting took place on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Annual Town Meeting is held every year on the second Tuesday in April to conduct township business. Township residents, participating in their local government, came to meet and speak with their township officials. Attendees were presented with the Supervisor's Annual Financial Report and the Road District Treasurer's Annual Report, as well as the Supervisor's Annual Video Presentation, which detailed the township's accomplishments for the past year. In addition, the township honored outstanding citizens for their contributions to the community.

"As a township, we are so appreciative of the positive efforts that so many put forth to make our community a great one," Sharon Langlotz-Johnson said. "We all look forward to the annual town meeting to recognize those who have gone above and beyond."

An additional highlight of the evening was the presentation ceremony of the 2019 TOPS (Township of Palatine Service) Award to recipients at the Town Meeting. The moderator for the evening was Karen Baker, and the awards were presented by Township Supervisor Sharon Langlotz-Johnson. The award winners, along with some of their generous actions, are provided below.

Outstanding Individual: Jared Worster

Jared began as a volunteer for the Township's holiday programs and the food pantry, initially as a visitor from Germany. He has now moved to the area and been hired part-time to work in the food pantry and continues to help out wherever he can.

Outstanding Business: Gale Cohen-Demarco, Owner of Sports Clips

Gale has been participating in the Apple Tree program since 2013 and has been extremely generous through allowing three of her associates to come to the Township and offer free haircuts to clients each year. The hairdressers volunteer their time and work an entire day with few to no breaks. In 2018, the Sports Clips team completed more than 80 haircuts.

Outstanding Volunteer Service Organization: The Rotary Club of Palatine

For the last several years, the Rotary Club of Palatine has donated $50,000 back into the community. In addition to building Rotary Plaza in the heart of downtown Palatine at Plum Grove and Palatine roads, the club also donated a dozen trees and benches to help beautify Community Park.

Outstanding Community Service: The Saxe Family

For the past eight years, Kim and Dave Saxe have coordinated and hosted a Food Pantry Scavenger Hunt in their neighborhood. They distribute flyers, act as a home base and send groups out to designated areas to collect food. During their previous efforts, their donation reached 2,000 pounds of food from 33 blocks they covered during their scavenger hunt.

Outstanding Community Service: Beth Conklin and the Neighborhood Stamping Group

Beth Conklin, a talented Township Blue Star Banner Mother, was asked if she would consider making thoughtful, handmade cards for the U.S. Navy recruits to send home to their loved ones for the Sailor Recruit Thanksgiving Card Program. Beth eagerly took on this task and enlisted the help of her stamping group. Together, they made four different styles of cards, so recruits were able to choose from a wider selection to send to their loved ones.

The Sailor Recruit Thanksgiving Card Program was founded by Palatine Township Clerk Lisa Moran and Outreach Coordinator Lori Lindberg. This program began as an outgrowth of the American Legion's Thanksgiving Day Program, which provides a homemade Thanksgiving meal, bowling and phone time with family members over the holiday. Moran and Lindberg started the card program as a way to make the holiday even more memorable for the recruits and their families.

For questions, please contact Palatine Township at (847) 358-6700.

For information on all of the services and programs provided by the township, visit palatinetownship-il.gov.