New advertisers in the upcoming issue of Bolingbrook Magazine include:
The Promenade, Quantum Foods, Adventist Hospital, Groot Industries,
Dupage Township, Midwest Fuel Injection, Liberty Mutual, Manower Inc.,
Advantage Chevrolet, ProMed- Dr. Anatoly Gorovits, MD., Rod Baker Ford,
Bolingbrook Family Chiropractic, New Life Lutheran Church, Rentals-Unlimited,
New Life Painting & Decorating and more…

Liberty Mutual also sponsored for interested readers to receive a free 1-yr subscription.

“Bolingbrook Magazine covers success stories, student achievements, profiles of community,
state, and national leaders as well as research that will benefit the general reader.,” said Mike Evans,
executive director, Bolingbrook Chamber of Commerce. “Bolingbrook Magazine is a high quality publication.”

Bolingbrook Magazine is published quarterly, and is distributed in
retail stores in and around Bolingbrook.

For information on advertising in Bolingbrook Magazine
Please contact Joseph Awinongya at 877-806-4611 or
joseph@ayingotv.com.

About Bolingbrook

Publisher Joseph Awinongya -prized professional fighter-is encompassed on the philosophy of life. His trekking across several countries speaking to schools and institutions finds communication to be very important. That is what motivated him to start Bolingbrook Magazine. To create a forum where people could share their experiences.

SOURCE
Ayingo Inc.
Valerie Ayertey, 630-219-1076
valerie@ayingotv.com or ayingo@hotmail.com

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“Our goal is to help people in our local community,” states Teresa Kostick, owner of All Line CARSTAR. “We are proud of what we are doing and working with Carol Penning and the Community Service Council of Northern Will County is a wonderful venture. We have been fortunate to have businesses in Bolingbrook step up to the plate and help, but there is still more to be done before our Sweetheart Rideaway day on Monday, February 9th.”

All Line CARSTAR Auto Body is scheduled to make the vehicle donation on Monday, February 9th, 2009 right before Valentine’s day,at its Bolingbrook location at 415 W. Boughton Rd. Bolingbrook’s Mayor Roger Claar will be there for the Sweetheart Rideaway Day to hand over the keys for the vehicle.

If you know of a family in need, an application is attached. They are also available at All Line CARSTAR, Bolingbrook Village Hall, Fountaindale Public Library, and the Will County building. Donations are also being accepted and can be dropped off at All Line CARSTAR.

For more information on the Recylcled Rides program or Sweetheart Rideaway Day, please contact:

Cheryl Shumake or Carol Penning

All Line CARSTAR Village of Bolingbrook
708-446-5486 630-226-8411

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Visit Marilyn’s web page

Her signature fragrance, Pheromone, is one of the most sought after perfumes nationwide. She is one of the nation’s top 500 women business owners.

“You can do anything if you live in America. If you believe in something you have to discipline yourself at the same time say please and thank you. Get up four hours earlier than anyone else because it gives you four extra hours a day. Four hours add up to 20 extra hours in a week. That’s almost an extra day! “

Here is an excerpt of the interview….

JM: How do you see the future?

Marilyn: I have plans. It’s nice to be alive. It is nice to be grateful to our Creator. Tomorrow, I will spend with my mother. Tomorrow, I will also work at retail since it’s the busy season. To me, I don’t have to go to work, I get to go to work because I work with some women and men and teach them how to bring the best inside of them outward. So, I inspire people. That’s the gift I’ve been blessed with.

JM: Do you think you where born in the right place and right time?

Marilyn: If I wanted to do today what I did 30 years ago regarding creating perfume I couldn’t, I couldn’t do it, no, no. I couldn’t afford the rent, creation of the perfume and all of the research and packaging because everything is so expensive today more so than it was 30 years ago. Thirty years ago I didn’t have the knowledge of business and so maybe if I had then, the knowledge of business today I don’t know if I would be personally able to do it.

JM: How do you inspire others?

Marilyn: If somebody asks me to do something new I try it because I’m an entrepreneur. I try not to say no to anyone. I mentor a lot of people. I have a young Hispanic girl, 24 years of age.

Read More…. Call (877) 806-4611 to subscribe today!

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He knows what he is doing. Bolingbrook was just named one of the top 100 in the nation by Money Magazine. The Village of Bolingbrook is #32 on the list and the 2nd highest community to be ranked out of Illinois!

When asked about how he does it this is what Mayor Roger Claar says during an interview with Joliet Magazine:

The key to success in any elective office, where you are elected to represent the people, is constituent services. How well I handle constituents and their requests for services or help, is how they will judge me. I think we’ve done a good job with constituent service. If a resident calls me, they get a quick answer, and swift resolution to the problem. We fix it, and I call to follow up to make sure it stays fixed. I’m very accessible. That door is closed maybe two or three times a year, other than that, it’s open all the time. My phone number is listed, and my direct number is on the web page, and if you call the office and I’m around, I’ll answer. You don’t have to go through three levels of people to get to me. Frankly, I won’t support anybody for public office that’s not willing to do the same. If I get one call at home a month, it’s a big month. People don’t bother you at home unless it’s an emergency, and then I hope they do call. Frankly, if you get too many calls at home, it means you’re either not doing your job right or you aren’t available enough.

What does it take to be like you?

I try to go to as many community events as I can. Many of my contemporaries or colleagues don’t do that in other communities. If there’s a major function such as a high school playoff game, I go because people feel much more comfortable approaching me at a social event with a question or problem. It can be very intimidating to come into City Hall to schedule an appointment to meet with the Mayor. People don’t know you, so they may be nervous, and concerned that their question may not be the right one or a smart one, so they just don’t bother. But, if people see me and a football game or tree lighting ceremony or village picnic or even shopping, they feel comfortable. They will say, “Excuse me mayor, do you mind if I ask a question?” Absolutely! That’s what I’m there for. If I wanted to avoid people, I could go to Jewel at nine at night, but I shop at peak hours so that people can see me and ask me questions. If I get to a point when I don’t feel comfortable doing that, then it’s time for me to get the hell out. I couldn’t do it. You need to let people know they can count on you if they need to.

How do you learn to be so open?
I wouldn’t say I learned from my family, I just enjoyed working with groups of people I started doing that in high school and college. I like the challenge of problems and solving the problems. The more unusual the problem, the more it gets my juices going to solve it. I get some strange phone calls, but you put together all of the knowledge experience you’ve gained. You ask for some suggestions and chase it until you even find someone who can help with problem. I like that challenge. One reason I like this position is because every phone call is different.

When do you think you’ll get tired of it?
I tell people, I’ve been doing this for 21 years and I hope that the day I get tired of it coincides with the end of the term. If I woke up and decided I couldn’t do it anymore in the middle of the term, it would be long two or three years. But I still like it, and I plan to run again in 2009.

What is a good way to be successful?
The key to be being successful in life is a good education. Unfortunately today, we have increasing dropout rates, and that’s pretty much of across the country. I tell kids all the time, what you learn they can’t take away from you. You can lose your job, your house, your wife, your car, but you can’t lose what you learn. Education is available to everybody; there are plenty of good higher education programs. If you get the right education, you can do anything you want in this country. Anyone saying otherwise is probably kidding themselves. I worked two or three jobs to get through college. Was if fun? No. But looking back on it, I’m glad I did it. It gave me a whole different respect for what I was able to do. In retrospect, I remember the fun parts more. Nobody paid my way. Anybody can do that if they want to. People come here looking for a job. Pick up any newspaper around, there’s ad after ad of people looking for people to go to work. Some people really don’t want to go to work. That’s unfortunate, but you have to work in this society to contribute back to the society. Some people choose to do that some people don’t. There’s givers, and there’s takers. I like to work with givers.

When you run again, what will you change?
I’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. I wouldn’t change anything, just make it better. We’ve got some more streets to put in, we’ve got some more infrastructure work to do, and we’ve got some more landscaping projects to do. I’m going to stay and work and make sure that retail continues to flourish. I’ll do what I can to make the hospital more successful. We’ll improve and expand the airport and make it safer. We want more opportunities for people to get higher education here, so we’re going to build an education center here so that people can continue their education after high school.
Bolingbrook is a unique community. I think we have lots of things going for us that other communities don’t, and I’m real proud to be mayor and part of the community. People all the time say, “Wow! I’ve been through your town. What a great looking city.” And it is, and it’s getting better every day.

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How did you meet your husband?

After I finished law school, I moved back to Chicago and took a job as an associate at a corporate law firm. Barack was a first year law student - and came to the firm as a summer
associate. We met when I was assigned to be his advisor, and I had to
take him to lunch on his first day.

What do you think it was that brought the two of you together?     

 I knew I liked him. He was smart, he was funny and of course he was cute.

And as we talked at lunch that first day I realized we had a lot in common.
Although we had very different upbringings - mine on the south side of
Chicago and his was all over the world - we were raised with the same
core set of, what I call, commonsense values.

And I thought there was something particularly interesting about a man
who went to Harvard Law - first African American president of the
Harvard Law review - but he didn’t use this experience to go somewhere
to cash out. He instead chose to make change - so he went into the
communities - working with real people on the ground. I was impressed
with him. And then he took me to a community organizing training one
day where he talked to a room full of people - grandparents raising
grandchildren, folks who’d shown up because they needed guidance to
create a better life for themselves…and he spoke about the world as it
is, and the world as it should be, and how the job of community
organizing is to bridge the two, and what he was saying was really
resonated with the group gathered there, and it really inspired me, and
it was there that I realized I could fall in love with him.

How can women balance a career and the ability to be strong for their
families?

 As I travel across the country, I encourage women to be strong                                            and supportive of one another, and I encourage them to not be
afraid to ask for help - from their spouses, their communities, their
friends and families. My ability to get through my day is greatly
dependent upon the relationships that I have with other women-my mother,
my aunts, my girlfriends, my neighbors, the mothers in my children’s
schools. I have this wonderful network of women where we rely upon one
another for emotional and practical support. In these women, I find a
place of comfort and sanity and peace like no other. We ground one
another; we listen to one another’s problems, free to tell one another
the truth about when we are being unreasonable or stubborn or foolish or
blind; we encourage one another’s relationships; we support one another
in our work; we share family holidays together; swap recipes; share
childrearing advice. It is a true community, and I am blessed to have
such a big community - one that includes many wonderful and supportive
men, the most important of whom is my husband who I value, cherish and
respect. But, it also is one that is highly populated by women; strong
women. We also need to take care of ourselves - both physically and
mentally - because if we don’t eat right, exercise and give ourselves a
break to be on point mentally, we won’t be able to give others - our
kids, our families and our friends - the support they need.

Can you tell us a bit about Public Allies and the organization’s role in
the community?

Public Allies is a program that’s designed to help young
adults pursue careers in public service. We all see certain professions
around us - doctors, lawyers, firefighters, police officers - and there
are clear paths to pursue these careers. But what about those of us
interested in pursuing non-traditional jobs - who are interested in
serving communities like the one I grew up in on the south side of
Chicago? Where can they go to get involved in helping others? Those
career paths are less clear, yet those communities are in great need -
and Public Allies helps facilitate those partnerships - helping to place
people in communities where they can work on the ground and be helpful
to folks day to day. In 1993 I became the founding executive director
of the Chicago office of Public Allies. My program was one of the first
programs in the country to get AmeriCorps national service funding, and
I’m very proud of the work we did when I was there and the work the
group continues to do.

What do you feel is your key achievement as Vice President of Community
and External Affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center?

 I have focused from the start of my time at the U of C on helping the Hospitals
and the surrounding community work better together. The reality when I
started was there was an incredible disconnect between the University of
Chicago - this great resource - and the surrounding community on the
South Side of Chicago. I hoped to bring a unique perspective to bridge
the gap between the two because - both from my upbringing on the South
Side understanding the value of the hospital, and from my experience at
institutions like the U of C - I have a thorough understanding of, and I
think credibility on, on both sides. And that’s what first drew me to
work there. And I hope my efforts have made a difference in bridging
that gap.

How can one become more connected to kids in general?

Barack and I are very active parents - we read to our girls at night, play with them
outside, and Barack even recently structured his campaign travel to be
sure he was home for the girls’ parent teacher conference. It’s about
respect for each other and for our kids, and care and involvement in
their lives.

How can women encourage their husbands to be supportive of their
careers?

 Our marriage is a partnership - filled with mutual love and
respect. Barack sees my efforts to balance family and work, and he
respects and appreciates it, in large part because he was surrounded by
strong women growing up who he saw doing the same thing. Our balance of
family, the campaign, and my career is not unique - I think families are
dealing with balancing so much in life everyday, but the key is to
encourage each other and seek support from your family and friends.

What are some life skills or principles that you believe are important
to share with your own children?

I have learned the importance of using common sense, thoughtfulness and empathy from my mom. We are grounded in what I call common sense Midwestern values - that you treat others
with respect, that your word is your bond. And I married Barack because
I saw he shared these values - through his upbringing being raised by
his mom and her family from Kansas. We all share these lessons with our
children - Malia, who turned 9 on the fourth of July, and Sasha, who
turned 6 earlier this summer.

We have a responsibility to model good and healthy relationships for our
sons and daughters. If we don’t show our children what it means to be
in a relationship with someone who loves us and respects us and
cherishes us, then our children won’t know what to look for as they
search to find those healthy, sane relationships for themselves.

What is a typical day like for you now that the campaign has hit full
swing?

 I’ve been traveling a couple days a week, and I only do day
trips so that I can be sure our girls are set for the day - at school,
at camp or at a friend’s house - and that I’m home in time for dinner or
to tuck them in at night. My days are packed visiting house parties and
community centers, stopping by our campaign offices across the country
and meeting new friends along the way.

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