Harrah's Joliet and Servpro Representatives Join Big Brothers Big Sisters Board of Directors

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties is proud to announce its two newest board members, Melinda Mackey, of Harrah’s Joliet Casino & Hotel, and William Kent, owner of Servpro of Joliet.

Mackey, Harrah’s Joliet Human Resources Administrator, lives in Plainfield with her husband, Arthur. She is a member and past Vice President of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) – Greater Will County Chapter.

Mackey said she was proud to represent Big Brothers Big Sisters on the board, personally and through Harrah’s. She also can’t wait to see what opportunities her new experience brings.

“I am willing to grow with Big Brothers Big Sisters,” she said.

Kent lives in Shorewood with his wife, Jennifer. He said he has wanted to become more involved with BB BS for a long time and found that now is the right time because he has been able to hire more employees to give him a hand with the business.

“My wife and I are very fortunate for what we have and really want to be able to help others,” he said. That includes becoming a Big Brother and encouraging others to do the same.

“I love being an advocate for things I believe in,” he said. “I surround myself with good friends that are like me, at the perfect age to become more involved in the community and be good role models and mentors for a Big Brother (or) Big Sister.”

Mackey and Kent join 12 other Big Brothers Big Sisters board members: Lori Bergman of Joliet; Will County Board member Herbert Brooks, Jr., of St. John M.B. Church in Joliet; Tom Grotovsky of R. Berti Building Solutions; Patrick Harbour of Harbour Contractors, Inc.; Mark Lichtenwalter of Spesia Ayers & Ardaugh; Grundy County Sheriff Terry Marketti; Karyn McCarthy of the Maclyn Group in Lisle; Karen Aschenbrenner Miklic of Packard Transport; John Mortimer of Wood, Phillips, Katz, Clark & Mortimer in Chicago; Rick Papp of State Farm Insurance; Michael Schuster of MJSI, Inc.; and Jim Serr of Clarity computer consultants.

With offices in Joliet, Morris and Kankakee, Illinois, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties is part of a network of nearly 400 local Big Brothers Big Sisters agencies across the country.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is a United Way agency that operates under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families, or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation’s largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”).

Big Brothers Big Sisters provides a system of ongoing evaluation and support that is proven by independent studies to help families by improving the odds that “Littles” will perform better in school and avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and others.

For more information on Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties, visit www.bbbswillgrundy.org or call (815) 723-BBBS (2227).