Our Local Chapter & Awards Night

Last night was the CF Foundation Peoria Chapter's Volunteer Appreciation Dinner & Awards Night. The Peoria Chapter hosts this every year to say a BIG Thank you to all the volunteers & give out 3-4 awards to individuals/Teams.

  Last year I attended as a guest/ award recipient. My parents and Andrew went with me to celebrate. I was very honored to receive my award last year "Outstanding Great Strides Partner for 2015." This year I was excited that Andrew was asked to be the evening's MC. He did a fabulous job! I'm so proud of him. I was the tech person for the evening & ran all the speakers slideshows & video content. The evening went very smoothly and the night was a huge success!

Peoria Chapter only has one staff member, Kellie. Many Chapters have different staff members for different events. Kellie oversees Peoria, Princeton, Bloomington, Champaign, Tuscola Great Strides Walks, the Peoria Suzana Lee Golf Outing, the Peoria Gala, and helps out with other secondary non-foundation sponsored events. This would include Red Dog Festival in Canton and the IVC High School lunch auction. So that is between 7-10 events a year she coordinates or help with. So last night is VERY important to the Chapter, without the dedication of volunteers, she couldn't do it all by herself.

(Andrew & I before the event started, before I put on my mask (and the other CF patients arrived).

I founded and decided to start the Great Strides walk. 3 other ladies in Princeton really stepped up and helped me out! Kellie has 3 events in June each year and Princeton really does manage itself (almost). Thanks to all the volunteers I have & people that always donate our food (Subway-Henry,IL), music (T Entertainment), activities like face painting, balloons!

 In the last few years I have really gotten to know Kellie. I don't consider her an acquaintance, I consider her a friend, so I enjoy planning events with her & helping out whenever I can. I became responsible for the food & entertainment at Peoria & Champaign walks the last few years, because I have contacts for those items. Andrew works at HyVee. The director of that HyVee donates all the water for the walk, and only charges us "at cost" for the sandwiches. He also donates auctions lunches for 10 people for the IVC lunch auction. I started getting involved in the Golf Outing & IVC High School lunch Auction last year & I will be the featured speaker at the Red Dog event this year. You may think that is a lot, BUT we have other individuals that volunteer for more than one event & really stepped up to chair certain events besides me.

I'm constantly amazed by the support the Peoria Community gives to the CF Foundation. We have an excellent CF Foundation Chapter ran by Kellie and an amazing CF Center (with a Research Coordinating Center). Our new Director of the CF Center in Peoria, Dr. Kharellah made a presentation to discuss the advancements of the CF Centers & how our local OSF center compares to other hospitals for the awards night. I love his passion for constantly striving to improve out standards to make us one of the top 10% of centers in the nation! Our CF Center Nursing Staff attended the Volunteer night too. Our CF Center Staff fully supports the CF Foundation & each CF patient! I love they encourage to do the best we can! 

(Picture: I'm with my 2 CF Nurses (I've had since I was little, LOVE Sara & Marie! )

Congrats to all the award recipients for 2016, you deserve it and without YOU our Chapter wouldn't be growing! Thank you to everyone who walks with me at one of the Great Strides Walks or donates to our cause, it means the world to me. Thank you for understanding March-June are my crazy months with CF events and putting up with my constant posts about my mission to CURE CF! But, we all know you want to cure it too! 

So Thank you everyone!!!!