MainStreet Libertyville Honors Volunteers & Celebrates 30 Years

MainStreet Libertyville, a volunteer-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with the mission of preserving the character of and promoting downtown Libertyville recently held its 2020 Annual Meeting at Mickey Finn’s Brewery. Volunteers, members and event sponsors gathered to celebrate MainStreet Libertyville’s 30th anniversary, review the organization’s past year’s successes and honor the work of its volunteers.

Dan Mayworm, the founder of the MainStreet Libertyville, spoke about the general condition of the downtown 30 years ago and compared it to today’s thriving community, noting that these positive changes are a direct result of committed and determined community support over the past 30 years.

The 2020 MainStreet Libertyville Board members were introduced and include Mark Anderson, Fred Kestler, Tim Shanahan, Jim Malecha, Ron Gauvin, Peg Becker, Shelly Malizola, Heather Fahrenkrog, Brian Grano, Karey Wittenborn, Erin Kahn and Veronica Sloma.

One of the highlights of the meeting was the presentation of a promotional video for MainStreet Libertyville utilizing drone technology. The video can be viewed on the MainStreet Libertyville website, and it highlights aerial footage and photos of the downtown business district, including restaurants, shops and a variety of community events. The video was produced with the help of volunteers on MainStreet Libertyville’s Social Media Committee, including Liz Kestler, Jennifer Johnson, Veronica Sloma and Lori Myles.

The evening was capped off with volunteer recognition awards. This year’s honorees included Greg Mauro (Gregory INFINITI), Veronica Sloma (MainStreet Libertyville Social Media Committee), Bunny Otrembiak (Libertyville Queen Pageant), Dan Garrity (Libertyville Farmers Market), and Dan DeRose (MainStreet Libertyville Associate Business of the Year). According to Mark Anderson, Board Chair, “We are so pleased to honor our members and volunteers that work very hard to make MainStreet Libertyville a thriving organization.”

The recipient of this year’s Volunteer of the Year Award was Bill Westerman. With his banking experience and relationships with small business owners, Bill recognized and elevated the value of a business succession plan as a resource to business owners. As an advocate for this initiative for our business members, Westerman helped produce the first business succession seminar, educating and assisting local business owners to think about and create business succession plans.

John Timony, owner of Curtis Frame/Back Alley Gallery, received the Dom Lentini Award, in memoriam of a long-time downtown business owner who was an avid supporter of the MainStreet Libertyville program. This award recognizes a MainStreet Libertyville business owner for their exceptional leadership and dedication to the promotion and benefit of the downtown community, following the principles of the MainStreet Libertyville organization. As a 10-year business owner, Timony was an avid supporter of the events and marketing opportunities provided by MainStreet Libertyville.

Timony was also the first business owner who took advantage of the business succession resources during the sale of his business to another owner. A succession plan allowed Timony to transfer his business’ name, quality of service and expert personnel that the community was accustomed to throughout the years to a new owner.

For more information regarding volunteer opportunities, membership or sponsorship, please call the office at 847-680-0336, visit our website at www.mainstreetlibertyville.org or like us on facebook.