Crusader honors ‘Spirit of Caring’ recipients

From press release

Crusader Community Health announced the winners of the annual “Spirit of Caring” awards at its 38th anniversary event, “Fall in Love with Caring,” held Oct. 15 at Giovanni’s. The event, attended by 470 people, also featured an autumn-themed dinner, live and silent auction items, raffle and the announcement of the Dr. Forrest Riordan Award.

Crusader Clinic initiated the “Spirit of Caring” awards in 1992 to honor special individuals and organizations in our community who have demonstrated outstanding efforts in caring for others. This year, 12 individuals and 12 organizations were nominated for the award by family and friends in recognition of their care and concern for others.

Crusader Community Health presented the 19th Annual “Spirit of Caring” awards to: Tommy Meeks, Roger Reithmeier and Kathy Velasco. The organization award went to the Janet Wattles Center.

Tommy Meeks

Known as a man who cares about people and the community, Tommy Meeks helps by making people aware of the past, present and future and what we can and need to do to improve our community and ourselves. He helped start the Juneteenth Celebration in Rockford and initiated It’s Time for a Change television show focused on efforts to make a difference in our community . Tommy started Inner City Reconstruction Group, whose mission is to inspire youth and adults to become better students and citizens and get their lives back on track.

Roger Reithmeier

Establishing a good financial structure, reporting system and review procedure is critical for non-profit agencies. For more than three decades, Roger Reithmeier has volunteered his financial expertise to assist many organizations. His dedication and commitment to the Rockford community has impacted the lives of thousands. His current involvement includes: Carpenter’s Place, Klehm Arboretum Foundation, YMCA of Rock River Valley, Rockford Park District and the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.

Kathy Velasco

Kathy Velasco is recognized for making amazing contributions by sharing her time and talents and bringing professionalism to many non-profits’ fund-raising and marketing efforts that would otherwise be unaffordable to these organizations. Her creativity, generosity and willingness to go the distance to support endeavors in our community that she believes in is unparalleled. Her supporters include: Family Counseling Services of Northern Illinois, Discovery Center Museum, Girl Scouts of the Rock River Valley, Rockford Network, The Blackhawk Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, YWCA of Rockford and the Ethnic Heritage Museum.

Janet Wattles Center

Janet Wattles has been a haven for people suffering from mental illness since the 1960s. Frank Ware, the center’s director, has introduced an array of best practice services offered by the agency for both children and adults. Every opportunity is provided to recovering people to add their gifts to the therapeutic power of the organization. Last year, the Mildred Berry Center served 2,700 children and their family members. The center is also providing leadership in housing for the homeless suffering from mental illness.

In addition, Crusader Community Health presented the 10th annual “Dr. Forrest Riordan, III Distinguished Humanitarian Award for Excellent Medical Service” to Dr. Joseph Pittman. He is a distinguished physician who has cared for Crusader patients in his practice as an endocrinologist at Crusader Community Health for the past five years.

The Dr. Forrest Riordan Award was established nine years ago to recognize exceptional medical providers who offer their service to the community. The award honors Dr. Riordan, who began doing volunteer work at Crusader in 1998. Dr. Riordan continues to offer his skills as an Orthopaedic Specialist at Crusader Community Health.

For more information, contact the Crusader Community Health Foundation office at (815) 490-1620, or go to crusaderhealth.org.

The Crusaders Central Clinic Association is a community-based, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to serve the Rock River Valley area with quality, primary health care for people in need. Services are available on a sliding discount basis.

Crusader Community Health operates out of three locations: Crusader Community Health on West State Street-Woodward Campus, 1200 W. State St.; Crusader Community Care on Broadway-Uram Building, Broadway and Seventh streets; and Crusader Community Health Belvidere, 1050 Logan Ave., Belvidere, Ill.

From the Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2010 issue