Referendum success depended on many committed River Foresters

Committeeto preserve RF Schools, One View

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

 

As co-chairs for The Committee to Preserve River Forest Schools, our hearts are humbled by the overwhelming support of River Forest residents for the District 90 referendum.

First and foremost, we thank the citizens of River Forest who voted YES on March 21. You listened to our message, stepped up on behalf of River Forest children, and for that we are eternally grateful.

To the more than 250 residents who generously gave financial support to our campaign: This support came in early, jump-started our momentum and enabled us to finance a successful campaign. Thank you!

To the Dist. 90 Board of Education (Nora Anzinger, Ron Atkins, Kristen Coe, Juli Geldner, David Gregg, Lori Owens, and Kelly Welindt): Campaigns are successful when the people involved demonstrate a willingness to answer tough questions and fully disclose details. The Dist. 90 school board, along with the Dist. 90 administration, made themselves and information available at all times. This transparency created an atmosphere of openness and trust. This was undeniably critical to our success. We thank you for the years of dedication and countless hours of meetings you have logged on behalf of Dist. 90 students and staff. We are humbled in the face of your commitment, and honored to have been able to support you with this campaign.

To Marlene Kamm, Dist. 90 superintendent, and Anthony Cozzi, business manager: We are grateful for the countless hours you spent on this campaign, above and beyond your full-time jobs running our schools. Your sincere dedication to the welfare of our children is obvious to all and much appreciated.

To the teachers and principals who helped with multiple campaign mailings after a full day of teaching our children: You went above and beyond the call of duty during a very stressful time in your professional lives. This extra effort, which we see every day in the classroom and after school, reminds us how lucky we are to have you teaching our children. We cannot thank you enough for your support.

We were fortunate to work with a "dream team" of a Campaign Steering Committee. We stand in awe of your wisdom, organization, energy, skills and commitment. We truly couldn’t have done it without you.

Karen Dale, Sally DelBeccaro, Carlotta Lucchesi and Ann Pepper, our campaign advisors who gave us the blueprint for success and offered invaluable counsel along the way, please accept our deepest thanks.

Patty Henek and Margie Cekander, who organized the successful (and fun!) campaign launch at Roosevelt School on Feb. 12: Even after their formal job was done, they continued to contribute in innumerable ways.

Terrie Rayburn, campaign scheduler, who managed the speaker’s bureau and calendar, created dozens of opportunities to bring our message to multiple audiences.

Gardi Wilks and Patty McEnaney, who managed communications, advertising and public relations to great effect, with the assistance of Jan Pyrce, Lynn Zurowski, Alison Nelson, Tina Weinheimer and Frances Kraft: This team developed a message that began and remained consistent, coherent, believable and, above all, professional.

John and Catherine Trage and Bill and Eileen Bower, who raised a record amount of campaign donations, when their job was done, they, too, stayed on and pitched in where needed.

Sue Kelty, who as the treasurer, kept track of the finances and paid our bills with complete professionalism, she also never said no and graciously helped with our Reminder to Vote campaign.

Ken Gaebler and Ellen Hanson, who created and maintained the most outstanding campaign website and also developed an incredibly effective voter database, their contributions of both time and expertise were critical to our success.

Anne Brennan and Kathleen Brand White, precinct managers, recruited, trained, managed, motivated and inspired over 140 block workers with the help of 15 remarkable precinct captains. They exuded grace under pressure during the final, critical stages of the campaign.

Block Workers: Too numerous to mention by name, they were the foot soldiers of the campaign. Without their efforts to bring our message literally house to house, we could not have met with the success that we did.

Liz Tinkham, who ran the voter registration drive, oversaw absentee ballot distribution, recruited and trained poll watchers, and managed all aspects of election day operations. She got us through a stressful day with unbelievable organization, efficiency and exceptionally good judgment.

Poll Watchers: Also too numerous to mention, their work on election day was critical to our success in getting the "yes" voters to the polls.

To the spouses and families of everyone we’ve mentioned, who ate a lot of pizza dinners while mom or dad worked on "referendum stuff," thanks for your understanding and support.

And finally, to our own children, and to all of the children of this community: Thanks for giving us the ultimate reason to get out of bed in the morning. We did it for you.

Amy McCormack, Sue Foran were co-chairs of the Committee to Preserve River Forest Schools.