November 1, 2022 at 11:04am
⚠️ Please Note: This article was published in 2022. Visit our Events Calendar to view current upcoming events.
Northbrook Park District was presented with three awards on Friday, October 14, 2022 by the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) – 15 Year Commissioner Service, Best Friend of Illinois Parks and Best Green Practices. This annual program provides a public platform to thank those who give so generously of their time, talents and resources to further the park, recreation and conservation mission.
Service Award
Commissioner Michael Ziering was recognized for his 15 years of service as an elected member of the Park Board of Commissioners. During his tenure he has served as Board Vice President from 2010–2012, Board President from 2012–2015, and Chair of the Golf Operations Committee since 2010.
Best Friend of Illinois Parks
The Northbrook Park District believes every resident should have the opportunity to participate in recreation programs. To accomplish this, the District offers a financial scholarship program which is now fully funded by Northbrook Bank & Trust Company, A Wintrust Community Bank. This award recognizes the five year partnership between Northbrook Park District and Northbrook Bank & Trust. Their support has also extended to several large community events including races, free summer concerts and community festivals allowing thousands of people to enjoy a sense of community which is needed now more than ever.
“I’m honored, humbled and delighted to accept this award on behalf of Northbrook Bank,” said Richard Rushkewicz, vice chairman of Northbrook Bank & Trust, in his thank you speech at the 2022 IAPD Best of the Best Awards Gala. “[We’re] the only bank in town with Northbrook in its name, so I think that give you an idea of just how we are committed to the community and how privileged we are to work with the Northbrook Park District in this collaborative effort.”
Best Green Practices
Since August, the District has collaborated with ComEd to replace light fixtures with new, reliable, resilient and energy-efficient LED fixtures at eight separate District locations through ComEd’s Energy Efficiency Program. Recently, a grant of $939,120.86 was awarded by ComEd for energy efficient LED fixtures, bulbs and labor. Upon completion, the project is projected to save the District nearly 3.8 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, which will be close to $135,000 in energy savings. This energy savings is equivalent to reducing more than 3.2 million pounds of carbon emissions, planting nearly 1,800 acres of trees or removing more than 300 cars from the road.
The District’s sustainability efforts were recognized with this award for the second year in a row. Highlights of these projects also include earning official net zero building status at Techny Prairie Activity Center and becoming recertified by Audubon International at Heritage Oaks Golf Club.