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8 | July 21, 2016 | The New Lenox Patriot news
newlenoxpatriot.com
New Lenox Family Dental to offer
free check-ups for children Aug. 6
Meredith Dobes, Editor
For some families, dental
insurance might be out of
reach or an afterthought
once all other bills and
expenses are paid.
Nicole Graves, dentist
and owner at New Lenox
Family Dental, is looking
to alleviate the financial
strain yearly check-ups
might cause by offering free
back-to-school check-ups
for children up to 18 years
of age from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 6, at her
practice, located at 424 E.
Lincoln Highway in New
Lenox.
The free check-ups are
solely for individuals without
dental insurance.
Graves completed
internships in lower-income
communities during her
final year of dental school
and volunteered at a
clinic that served homeless
adults.
To continue her philanthropic
work, this year will
be the first time she is offering
the free check-ups, and
she said she is looking for
more families to sign up to
benefit from services that
day.
“I wanted to give back to
the community and to try
to do something for people
who might not be able to
afford dental treatment,
which is a necessity for all
kids to have,” Graves said.
“I wanted to alleviate some
of the burden that’s on some
families.”
Families who sign up for
the service do not need to
bring anything special the
day of the free check-ups,
but Graves stressed the day
is solely for patients who
have no dental insurance
coverage whatsoever.
She added that she wants
to serve as many patients
as possible Aug. 6 and
is willing to add another
day of the free services, if
needed.
Graves said she plans to
have two assistants helping
out Aug. 6, as well as possibly
one hygienist. She also
plans to return the event,
hopefully on a larger scale,
in the future, she said.
When asked what she
looks forward to most about
providing the free checkups,
she said, “Just being
able to help people — it’s
always a good feeling.”
NL native, Navy official speaks
at local awards presentation
Jessie Molloy
Freelance Reporter
Assistant Secretary of the
Navy for Manpower and Reserve
Affairs Franklin Parker
returned home to the south
suburbs July 12 to address
the recipients of this year’s
Chicago Southland Chamber
of Commerce Ron Milnes
Scholarship.
The award winners and
their families met for a celebratory
breakfast at Chicago
Gaelic Park in Oak Forest,
where Parker served as the
keynote speaker. Parker grew
up in New Lenox and graduated
from Providence Catholic
High School in 1992.
“I’m very excited to be
back home today,” Parker
said as he began his address.
“While I live in [Washington,]
D.C. now, Chicago and
the south suburbs are always
with me and will always be
home.”
Throughout his speech,
Parker, who handles the affairs
of more than 800,000
servicemen and women in his
job, emphasized the importance
of people in all aspects
of life from higher education,
to the workplace, to personal
support networks.
“As I took each step in
my life, one of the biggest
parts of it was the people
in my life,” he said. “No
matter who you are or what
you do, you won’t achieve
anything without the support
of others.”
Parker also emphasized
that, despite what many students
are told in high school,
life and career paths are often
fluid, and having a plan set
in stone is not a necessity for
students at the high school
point of their lives.
“It’s OK to not have everything
figured out,” he said.
“We’re all works in progress.
When people ask me what
my favorite job I’ve had is,
I tell them this one, because
I love working with people.
But if you had asked me back
in 1992 when I was at Providence
where I wanted to be
now, I wouldn’t have been
able to tell you, but I feel very
privileged to be where I am
today.”
This year, the chamber
raised $6,000 to give in
scholarships to five students
through private donations
and its annual sports
luncheon. In order to be
eligible for the scholarship —
which was founded in 1995
in memory of Ron Milnes,
Bimba Manufacturing vice
president, active chamber
member and former
elementary school principal
— students must be the child
of a chamber member or
chamber member employee,
or be a chamber member
themselves. Students had
to maintain a GPA of 2.5 or
higher, write an essay about
overcoming a challenge or
difficulty, and submit a letter
of recommendation.
“At a time when there is
often bleak news about education,
we got to read many
enthusiastic and optimistic
essays written by gifted,
young people, and it was so
refreshing,” said Nancy Burrows,
Scholarship Committee
member and employee of
Bimba Manufacturing. “We
are very happy to be recognizing
and giving a boost to
these people as they start the
next chapters of their lives.”
This year’s winners were
Lincoln-Way East graduate
Abby Oliveri, who will
be attending the University
of Wisconsin-Madison;
Homewood-Flossmoor High
School graduate Tristian
Donohoe, who will be attending
the College of Wooster
in Ohio; Southland College
Prep grad Darion Evans, who
Assistant Secretary of the
Navy for Manpower and
Reserve Affairs Franklin
Parker speaks July 12 at
the Chicago Southland
Chamber of Commerce
Ron Milnes Scholarship
presentation at Chicago
Gaelic Park in Oak Forest.
Photo submitted
will be attending University
of Illinois; Autumn Clemons,
a Hillcrest high school
graduate attending University
of Missouri, Columbia
next year; and Ally Armato, a
Downers Grove South graduate
who will be going to Trinity
Christian College in the
fall.
Armato received this year’s
special award of $2,000.
Each of the other four recipients
were given $1,000 to put
towards their tuition.
Parker congratulated
all the award winners and
wished them luck in their
future endeavors.
“Education and career
training are important parts of
what I do with the Navy, and
they are equally important in
civilian life,” he said. “Take
pride in your accomplishments
today as you build to
greater heights. I believe you
all have the talent and potential
to go far.”