Reflective thinking: Area residents share the reasons they are grateful this year

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Giving thanks is something Shannon Watson does every day.

As executive director of Tri City Health Partnership Free Medical Clinic, Watson is thankful for the community’s generosity in supporting the clinic and for the work of its volunteers.

Based in St. Charles, the clinic serves low-income, uninsured and underinsured people in central Kane County and is open four days a week.

“This clinic only survives by local private donations and foundations and a few outside organizations,” Watson said. “Delnor-Community Hospital supports us by doing free testing. Their foundation supports us financially. We are eternally grateful.”

The clinic served 526 patients who made 1,700 visits last year. As more than half were new, Watson said it is a reflection of a worsening economy.

Her greatest thanks is that the clinic can successfully provide preventive medical care for its patients.

“We are preventing the catastrophe from showing up at the emergency room,” she said.

After recently returning from the annual summit of the National Association of Free Clinics, Watson learned that the services they provide are as rare as they are vital. With only 1,200 free clinics in the U.S., 22 of them in Illinois, this is the only one in central Kane County.

“If the community were not generous, we could not have a partnership with medical volunteers,” Watson said.

– By BRENDA SCHORY - bschory@kcchronicle.com

Investment pro Brady grateful for help through difficult year

The year is almost over.

And David Brady can’t say he’s sorry to see it go.

As a professional investment adviser, Brady, the owner of Brady Investment Counsel in Geneva, has had a rough year.

For months, the markets – whether they trade in stocks, bonds or commodities – have taken a beating. Since April, for instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped about 40 percent, from about 13,000 to as low as 7,552 last week.

And the turmoil has left its mark on financial professionals like Brady throughout the area and the country.

“There have been a few sleepless nights through this confusion, that’s for sure,” he said. “This market has just been so crazy. There is no one in the business alive today who has ever seen anything remotely like this.”

But Brady said he is weathering the ordeal, personally and professionally, thanks to three things.

First, he said, he is thankful for his Christian faith, which Brady said has provided him guidance on life and inspiration.

Next, he offered thanks for his wife, who serves as his partner in life and business.

“She has really helped to keep me sane through all of this,” Brady said.

On a less personal note, Brady said he is thankful for those who mentored him early in his career or who in some way provided him with the knowledge that has helped keep his practice steady.

“I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say I would’ve been lost without that,” Brady said.

– By JONATHAN BILYK - jbilyk@kcchronicle.com

Top cop thankful for new digs

Earlier this year, Sheriff Pat Perez began working in a new office, adjacent to his new jail.

For that, and other things, the county’s top cop is thankful.

“I’ve been thankful for the people I work with, but most of all, I’m thankful for our new facility,” Perez said.

The new facility, located next to the Kane County Judicial Center on Route 38 in St. Charles, houses the Sheriff’s Office and jail.

It opened in late summer after about two years of construction.

“It’s raised our morale and raised our level of professionalism,” Perez said. “It’s solved a lot of problems on many levels, but the true bottom line is the condition the inmates lived in was the same conditions the corrections officers had to work in.”

The new 236,582-square-foot jail eases overcrowding conditions and offers state of the art security technology and philosophies.

But, besides his new office and jail, Perez said he’s also thankful for something he’s had a lot longer – his family.

– By KATE THAYER - kthayer@kcchronicle.com

Thankful for healthy family, no more diapers

After helping to cover Batavia from 1995 to 1998 for the Kane County Chronicle, Ed DeMask now is just another part of the community.

And this Thanksgiving, the father of three is thankful for the simple things – a healthy family, a happy family, and a steady paycheck.

“As bad as the economy has been, having a healthy family is very important,” DeMask said. “And I’m thankful for being in a position where the economy has not hurt us as much.”

He owns a marketing and public relations firm – DeMask Marketing, Inc. – which combined his love of writing with his desire to make more money to help support his growing family, who moved to Batavia more than five years ago from Glen Ellyn.

“We knew the area,” DeMask said, “We loved it.”

He’s now a part of the town. He’s the president of the H.C. Storm Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization; involved in Batavia youth football and youth baseball; and helped support and promote the referendum to expand the high school. His wife is a member of the Batavia Mother’s Club.

“We’ve only lived here five years,” DeMask said, “and we’re tied into the community at 10 different levels.”

Along with the healthy family, he’s also thankful that his sons – Teddy, 9; Jackson, 6; and Luke, 4 – are getting older.

“We went through 10 years of diapers and strollers and diaper bags,” DeMask said. “Now we’re finally at the point where we can go to the movies together … or boating. It’s just really cool. We’re a really strong family, and I appreciate that.”

– By JOE GRACE - jgrace@kcchronicle.com

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