The 2009 Wood Community Service Award

I think maybe we got lucky this year with a two for the price of one deal.  While the Wood Award usually goes to an individual, occasionally it does go to a couple.  What makes this year’s couple a little different is that either end of this husband and wife team was a worthy recipient in their own right.

The Wood Community Service award, its official name, is presented yearly to an individual or a couple who has made significant community contributions. The award is named in honor of Bill & Elise Wood and Nell & Burton Wood who contributed to the growth and health
of Geneva.

Sam and Carolyn Hill, the 2009 recipients, learned of this honor at the Geneva Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner and Awards Night. Each year family members are asked to secretly ensure that the winner attends. This year it appeared that the couple would miss the event because they were babysitting their grandchildren. It was necessary for the chamber to tell Carolyn that Sam was receiving the award to guarantee both attended. The Hills were equally surprised when it was announced they both had won.

Sam and Carolyn met at the University of Illinois, and this past August they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Sam received his BS and MS degrees in municipal parks and recreation. His first job was Superintendent of Recreation in Lincoln, Illinois, where he ran a center for teenagers. The Hills moved to Geneva in 1977 with their two children, Jennifer and Jeff, who
went to school in Geneva. Sam and Carolyn were great supporters of the school system, and both of them enjoyed watching their children participate in sports.

Sam is an Alderman and was on the Park District Board, the Geneva Planning Commission, the Beautification Committee, the Park District Foundation, Mid Valley Neighborhood Improvement

System and the Geneva Jaycees. He is the liaison between the city and the Chamber of Commerce. Sam is proud of the work he did to help get the acquisition of Peck Farm for the Park District. He drove in freezing rain to Springfield to present the idea to the state committee
in charge of parks and recreation. Because of his efforts a Peck Farm baseball field was named after him.

Carolyn began working in real estate in the 70s. Carolyn has served as a commissioner on the Cultural Arts Commission; and as a board member, she was the head of the successful Dancing With the Geneva Stars fund-raiser.  Carolyn presented the awards to the emerging artists at
the annual Geneva Arts Fair in July and serves on several church committees. She is a former president of the Geneva PTO Council, a past president of the high school music boosters, president of the Community Chest, past board member of the Geneva Academic Foundation
and member of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.  Professionally she is a member of the Fox Valley Board of Realtors, Illinois Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Carolyn has achieved the G.R.I., Graduate of Realtor Institute, designation.

Sam and Carolyn were taught to give back to the community, and they reared their children with the same values. Their son Jeff said, “They have a passion for the town of Geneva, they have a passion for the arts and for their church.”

I’ve been friends with both Sam and Carolyn for a number of years, and it would be tough to choose between the two for this recognition. I think it’s appropriate and well deserved that they received it as a couple.

This article first appeared in the January 2010 issue of eGeneva Magazine.