Spirito! Singers to Honor Community Leader Darrell Whistler with 2017 Service Award

Each year, Spirito! Singers recognizes a local community member who exhibits an excellent sense of service with their Service Award. This year's Spirito! Service Award Winner is Darrell Whistler. Although Whistler passed away earlier this year, his volunteerism remains legendary in the Elmhurst community. “Instilling the importance of service in our singers is an important part of our mission,” states Scott Sutherland, Spirito! Board President. “There is no better role model than Darrell Whistler for inspiring a young person to give and serve.”

In 1969, Whistler was appointed to serve on Elmhurst's Zoning and Planning Commission ultimately serving under 9 mayors. He was named chairman of that advisory panel in 1974 and held that role until stepping down due to illness in 2017.

From 1995 until his death, Whistler served on the board of Community Bank of Elmhurst. Whistler also served on the boards of Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare, which honored him with a trustee leadership award in 2009, and the Elmhurst Economic Development Corp., which gave Whistler its Dedication and Leadership Award in 2000.

Whistler also served on several Elmhurst College committees and was a regular member of the Bluejay Backers Basketball Bunch, a group of residents who attend Elmhurst College men's basketball games and provide support for the program. The college awarded him its Community Service Recognition Award in 2010.

Other organizations on whose boards Whistler served include the Kiwanis Club of Elmhurst, which named him its Lay Person of the Year in 2003, and the Elmhurst Symphony Association. He also served as the president of the Elmhurst Jaycees. In January, Whistler was named to the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Hall of Fame.

Whistler also had a 36-year career in management at Sears Roebuck and Company, worked for 10 years as the director of marketing for the Lexington Square retirement communities, followed by three years in marketing for the Beacon Hill retirement community.

Denise Lucas, Whistler’s daughter feels his parents instilled a volunteer spirit in him from an early age. Whistler’s father was a volunteer firefighter in Kansas, and Denise feels her father learned his community service by watching his parents. Lucas will accept her father’s award at Spirito!’s Tenth Annual Autumn Voices Gala, November 4 at Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.

For information on Spirito! or to purchase tickets for Autumn Voices, please visit www.SpiritoSingers.org or call the Spirito! office at 630.581.5440.