| POLK PLACE NEIGHBOR OF THE MONTH - AUGUST 2007 | ||
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Mrs. Toni Themis- 113 Sontag Drive | |
August, 2007 Those of us who are acquainted with Mrs. Toni Themis know her as a quiet but “classy” presence at many Polk Place events and gatherings. A past president of the Polk Place Neighborhood Association, Mrs. Themis is also known for her excellent cooking! She lives on the front section of Sontag, just behind Julianna and remembers how the neighborhood continued to develop past that point right before her eyes. “They had the old section and I think we were the first section that went in after that. They would just do one (whole) street and then move down to the next street,” she recalls. A transplant from just outside of Chicago, Illinois in Shorewood, near Joliet, Mrs. Themis moved here to be close to a daughter (Niki Neimer) and grandson (Garrett) living in Brentwood. “I remember driving up here and seeing (the neighborhood) and thinking ‘I really like this area.’ I didn’t want anything that big with a big yard,” she says. Walking into her home for the first time sealed the deal “I thought ‘This is definitely it,’” she recalls, noting the molding, trey ceilings and one-level living. “I was just thrilled to be here and I’m still thrilled with the neighborhood,” she says. What may seem to some as a conservative personality actually cloaks a vivacious entertainer. A graduate with a major in voice from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Mrs. Themis, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, taught piano and voice for many years. She also served as a church choir director for nearly two decades. Perhaps the most interesting highlight of her career involves stints doing “programs” in which she would speak, sing in costume and entertain along specific themes for nursing homes, churches, schools and civic groups. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Themis traveled extensively, then put together a program she entitled “A Broad Traveling.” She is also a former public school teacher, radio station music librarian, owner of a knitting business (she sold her creations to shops and boutiques in Chicago and Joliet), and substitute teacher here in Williamson County.Mrs. Themis is perhaps best known in the Polk Place Community for her leadership in the neighborhood charitable effort known as “Make a Difference Day.” Each year, ten national winners go to Washington where they are awarded $10,000 for their charity of choice. Under her leadership, Polk Place garnered a national honorable mention the year before last. Last year’s Polk Place “Make a Difference Day” projects included decorating and furnishing a Habitat for Humanity house for a family with seven children who had fled the war-torn Sudan region and selling ducks for the annual duck race which benefits New Hope Academy, a private Christian school that reaches out to low-income families to offer exceptional education that would be otherwise unaffordable for them. Mrs. Themis’ leadership in the Illinois Federation of Women’s Clubs (a conglomeration of 500 different service clubs) helped that group become one of the “Make a Difference Day” national winners, garnering the $10,000 prize. As a direct result of her efforts, the Illinois Federation became one of the national “Make A Difference Day” organization’s honor groups.
June Neighbor of the Month |
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