Hawkettes Honored For Volunteerism Efforts

Jackie Graney, the coach of Maine South High School's award-winning Hawkettes dance team, had plenty to say when Park Ridge Mayor David Schmidt asked her to describe the girls' contributions to the community.

Graney ticked them off: packing more than 13,000 meals for a charity called Feed My Starving Children, which sends food to the malnourished; participated in a "Walk and Roll" to raise money to help children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy; performed at the 9/11 Hopefest; volunteered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's FAM JAM and at Marillac House, a charitable institution, helped raise breast cancer awareness and other projects.

"That’s a small part of what they do, on top of practicing a ridiculous amount of hours a day," Graney told the Park Ridge City Council at their meeting Jan. 21. The council was honoring them for receiving the Universal Dance Association's American School Spirit Award for 2012. 

Mayor Schmidt thanked team members for their efforts, then quipped, "I saw the Rockettes in Rosemont, they’ve got nothing on this group here."

While the team has won numerous dance awards, Schmidt emphasized thie award was for volunteerism and community service.

"What really got to me was when I read the amount of things they had to do to get this award. It was a long long list of community service," he said.

"Anyway, go do your homework," he teased the high-schoolers as they wrapped up a photo-taking session for parents.

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