On July 17, the Huntley School Board awarded the Sun City community the Positive Outlier Award. A Positive Outlier is someone who goes above and beyond to spread positivity and lifts the community around them.
Bill Niemasz, Sun City Board President, Brian Gregory, Executive Director, Dolores Fischer, a resident and a critical component of the partnership with the school district, and Ben Manibog received the recognition on the behalf of all of Sun City residents who have given their time, shared their skills and experience, and helped with many needs of the School District.
Eileen Delahanty, volunteer coordinator of the Huntley School District, said, “The phrase ‘it takes a village’ perfectly encapsulates the collaborative effort required to provide our students with the best educational experiences available, enabling them to achieve academic success. Since the late 1990s, residents of Sun City Huntley have been collaborating with Huntley School District 158 to make this a reality.”
In 2001, several Sun City neighbors organized and established a volunteer group that would come to be known as Community Student Outreach, or CSO. They began with a desire to share their skills and volunteer. Over 50 volunteer members were participating and helping wherever needed. That group was recognized in 2003 by the Lincoln Foundation as an exemplary program and a model for other school districts. The CSO dissolved in 2007, but residents continued to volunteer and engage in activities throughout the district.
Delahanty said, “Since 1999, there has never been a school year when we have not had Sun City residents volunteering in our schools. The partnership between our school community and the Del Webb community is rooted in a rich history, with a promising future ahead of us. As volunteer coordinator for District 158 for over 25 years, it has been my honor and privilege to know and work with hundreds of notable residents in Sun City.”
Niemasz agrees.
“Sun City Huntley was honored to receive the Outlier Achievement Award from Huntley School, District 158,” he said. “Our community and the school district have enjoyed a longstanding relationship, collaborating on numerous initiatives dating back to 2001. This year, the Board adopted a goal to further strengthen our relationships with other organizations, with special emphasis on HHS. There has been a notable increase in joint projects, with at least fourteen collaborative efforts this year. From my involvement, it is clear that students sincerely appreciate the contributions of Sun City residents, and Sun City residents enjoy time spent with the students. The School District has expressed its gratitude by presenting us with the Outlier Achievement Award. Notably, this is only the third time the School District has presented this award in over twenty years.”
Many residents throughout the community volunteered this past year. They volunteered at the Game of Life, where students are given a salary and then have expenses deducted from their pay. Veterans have shared their experience and been rewarded by the enthusiastic appreciation of the students. They judged students’ projects, participated in interviews for the HHS engineering program, gave presentations, participated in student interviews, judged stories written by elementary students, and much more.
