Liz Zienty is installed at President of Rotary Club of Naperville
Brand Bobosky earns Rita Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award
Merryweather, currently Rotary International District 6450 Governor, officiated during Zienty’s installation ceremony. Joining Zienty as an officer for the next Rotary year July 1- June 30, John Gallagher will serve as president-elect, Mary Lynn Hoffer as treasurer, and Sandy Benson as secretary.
Outgoing Rotary Club of Naperville President Frank Slocumb presented Zienty with the club’s prestigious Four Avenues of Service Award.
“For Liz, Rotary’s motto of ‘Service above Self’ defines her approach to the community and to our Rotary Club,” said Slocumb. “The Four Avenues of Service Award is given to a Rotarian who has been involved in all of the areas of service provided by the Rotary Club of Naperville over the years: Community Service, International Service, Vocational Service, and Club Service.”
Zienty served as the club’s director of vocational services for almost three years. She energetically took on the role of Rotary liaison for Interact, Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 14 to 18. The Interact Club, made up of about 100 students, is dedicated to doing service within the community. Under Liz’s guidance, the Interact Club earned two Presidential Citations from Rotary International and a second-place district award. Liz has also been deeply involved with Rotary Youth Leadership Awards, better known as RYLA.
She also helped organize two Make-a-Wish fundraisers, volunteered at Oktoberfest for 16 years (including co-chairing the manpower committee and helping recruit 750 volunteers), co-chaired Soup’s On, helped solicit and package gift baskets for numerous silent auctions, helped select scholarship winners and plan several scholarship breakfasts and Paul Harris luncheons, collected coats at the Ford dealership and sorted clothing for Stand Down Day, helped plan several Upendo Village fundraisers at Meson Sabika, hosted two exchange students and four group-study participants, hosted “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?,” and provided hand-made center pieces for hundreds of Rotary luncheons and special events.
Zienty served previously as secretary for the Rotary Club of Naperville and also planned programs for the club. She earned the club’s Rotarian of the Year 2008-2009 Award and the Service above Self Award for 2007-2008.
Club Presents Rotary Awards
The annual installation dinner also serves as a time to recognize dedicated Rotarians for their contributions to the club during the year. Adam Parks was named “Rookie of the Year.”
Bill Anderson, Hilary Decent, Gerry Cassioppi, Mary Lynn Hoffer, and Hunter Byington received Service Above Self awards. Both Merryweather-Arges and Gallagher were distinguished with a “Rotarian of the Year” award.
A Special Award was presented to Karen and Bill Garlough for their leadership in developing the club’s successful Soup’s On! fundraiser.
Outgoing President Slocumb received the President’s Award for the club’s accomplishments during 2012-2013, in which the club had received six recognition awards for excellence during the district conference. Again as District Governor, Merryweather presented the Rotary Club of Naperville with its 18th consecutive Rotary International Presidential Citation, a rare achievement for any club.
Brand Bobosky Earns Rita Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award
“Brand Bobosky is ‘one of a kind’ and we’ve been proud to have him as a member of the Rotary Club of Naperville for 30 years,” said Slocumb. “Known by many as ‘Naperville’s Idea Man,’ his record of Service above Self to numerous Naperville organizations is lengthy and distinguished.”
Slocumb noted he was honored to present Bobosky with the 2012-2013 recipient of this valued achievement award.
“The Rita Harvard Lifetime Achievement Award is our highest honor, and it is given to a Rotarian who has dedicated their life to service to our community,” said Slocumb. “This award is named in honor of Rita Harvard, the Rotary Club of Naperville’s first female member in 1985, and first female president in 1994.”
During his acceptance, Bobosky paid tribute to Harvard’s leadership as he reminisched about his service that included conceptualizing the annual Little Friends auction more than 30 years ago with his wife, Mary Ann. The first year, the auction raised about $10,000, and now it raises about $100,000 annually to benefit people with disabilities.
“That is the idea of which I’m most proud,” he admits. “It spawned all the other auctions for charity in Naperville. Literally millions of dollars have been raised through various charity auctions since then.” He added, “I hope we are remembered for the Little Friends auction – how that little seed, that little kernel, grew into something that is colossal and has done so much good for so many people.”
Bobosky’s most visible community achievement is Century Walk. Inspired by a public mural project that revitalized the small Vancouver Island mill town of Chemainus, he first proposed the concept of Century Walk to business and community leaders in 1995. His idea was to commission and install three pieces of public art per year for ten years. Envisioning a mixture of murals, sculptures, and mosaics, he suggested that the mission of Century Walk would be to honor significant people, places, and events of twentieth century Naperville. Never promising that Century Walk would stop after 10 years and 30 pieces of art, Brand has continued to serve as the executive director of Century Walk which now boasts 42 pieces – with “Joe Naper” and “Spirit of the American Navy” sculptures to be installed in the fall.
Brand’s other community leadership has included: opening his law practice in October of 1983 at 50 W. Chicago Avenue in downtown Naperville; being a member of CAN/DO, the Central Area Naperville Development Organization, from 1983 until the organization ended; serving on the board of directors for Edward Hospital for six years during the late 1980s; serving on the board of Little Friends for six years and chairing the board for one; serving as president of the Jaycees in 1975; serving as chair of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce in 1997; co-chairing the Educare Ball for Illinois Benedictine College (now Benedictine University); co-chairing the Naperville Heritage Society Antiques Show; and proposing the concept of Oktoberfest, with Joyce Lenert and Art Davis, which became Rotary Club of Naperville’s primary fundraiser for many years.
Although Bobosky is receiving this lifetime achievement award, he prefers to view it as a mid-life achievement award – since he isn’t finished yet.
Did you know? For 71 years, the Rotary Club of Naperville has provided service to the community by helping others. Through the inspired commitment of its members, Rotary provides college scholarships, funding for medical screenings, food pantries, homeless shelters, clean water and health initiatives worldwide and much more, and the most important signature project of our generation, eliminating Polio. For more information, please visit www.napervillerotary.clubexpress.com.
News release written by Jini Clare, Rotary Club of Naperville
Editor’s Note: Naperville is home to four Rotary Clubs, each with its own personality. In addition, the city is served by numerous service organizations, including the Naperville Woman’s Club, Evening Kiwanis, Noon Lions Club, Naperville Jaycees, Junior Woman’s Club and the Exchange Club of Naperville. PN welcomes news from other volunteer organizations when they are changing their leadership and/or hosting special events.
