D gestFall 2007

Save the Date!CHRISTMAS

SPIRITS REVUESaturday, January 26(See details on back cover.)

Oakton’s stars shone brightly at the2007 Scholarship Banquet, as students and donors gathered to

celebrate the annual scholarship awards.During the evening, the Foundation presented some 200 scholarships totalingmore than $210,000. Keynote speaker,Vincent Acuri, past recipient of the Karen Kline Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club Scholarship and American Legion Nursing Scholarship, commented,“These scholarships were instrumental in fulfilling my dream.”

This year, generous donors established13 new scholarships including:

Africa and East Asia Women’sScholarship. Erick Mann, Ph.D., chair ofOakton’s historical and policy studies,established this scholarship to assist awoman native of sub-Saharan Africa orSoutheast and East Asia. The recipient isNnenna Nwog, who aspires to work inanesthesiology.

Thomas and Terese Conway Scholarship.Terese Conway endowed this scholarshipto honor her late husband, Thomas, a pro-fessor of history at Oakton who touchedcountless lives during his long tenure atthe College. The recipient is Neethu Peter.

Excellence in Professional GovernmentManagement. In honor of the Village ofSkokie’s engaged citizenry who institutedthe Council-Manager form of governmentin 1957, this endowment assists Skokieresidents planning to pursue a career ingovernment administration. The recipientis Devin Morris, an editor of Oakton’s stu-dent newspaper, the OCCurrence.

William Frick and Company RFIDTechnology Scholarship. William Frick and Company started this scholarship forstudents taking classes in Radio FrequencyIdentification. The recipient is DanHackensee, who says, “My heart is intechnology.” William Frick and Companyalso has provided significant hardwaresupport for the RFID lab located at theSkokie campus.

June Garland Scholarship. A gift fromthe Geraldine J. Laff Foundation, thisscholarship honors June Garland, whoserved the Educational Foundation for 20years managing special events and thescholarship program. The recipient, RajniGhimire, plans to become a nurse.

Christopher Jost Memorial Scholarship.Endowed in memory of a non-traditionalOakton student who was killed by a drunkendriver, the Christopher Jost MemorialScholarship provides funding for an adult

Rising Stars

Inside■ Rosewood Restaurant

■ Wentcher Scholars

■ Annual Dinner

■ IRA Opportunity

■ Foundation Welcomes New Director Arnold D. Cowen

■ Ready, Set…Celebrate

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

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Jim LaPalermo (left) gives the James and AnnLaPalermo Scholarship to beaming RFID studentMatt Overeem.

Skokie’s Assistant Village ManagerJohn Lockerby (right) presents the newly endowed Excellence in Professional GovernmentManagement Scholarship to recipient Devin Morris.

Phyllis and Paul Gilson (left) present the Michael GilsonMemorial Scholarship to recipientNaramsin Ashoormaram.

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Excellence in Professional GovernmentManagement. In honor of the Village ofSkokie’s engaged citizenry who institutedthe Council-Manager form of governmentin 1957, this endowment assists Skokieresidents planning to pursue a career ingovernment administration. The recipientis Devin Morris, an editor of Oakton’s stu-dent newspaper, the OCCurrence.

William Frick and Company RFIDTechnology Scholarship. William Frick and Company started this scholarship forstudents taking classes in Radio FrequencyIdentification. The recipient is DanHackensee, who says, “My heart is intechnology.” William Frick and Companyalso has provided significant hardwaresupport for the RFID lab located at theSkokie campus.

June Garland Scholarship. A gift fromthe Geraldine J. Laff Foundation, thisscholarship honors June Garland, whoserved the Educational Foundation for 20years managing special events and thescholarship program. The recipient, RajniGhimire, plans to become a nurse.

Christopher Jost Memorial Scholarship.Endowed in memory of a non-traditional

Oakton’s stars shone brightly at the2007 Scholarship Banquet, as students and donors gathered to

celebrate the annual scholarship awards.During the evening, the Foundation presented some 200 scholarships totalingmore than $210,000. Keynote speaker,Vincent Acuri, past recipient of the Karen Kline Wilmette Harbor Rotary Club Scholarship and American Legion Nursing Scholarship, commented,“These scholarships were instrumental in fulfilling my dream.”

This year, generous donors established13 new scholarships including:

Africa and East Asia Women’sScholarship. Erick Mann, Ph.D., chair ofOakton’s historical and policy studies,established this scholarship to assist awoman native of sub-Saharan Africa orSoutheast and East Asia. The recipient isNnenna Nwog, who aspires to work inanesthesiology.

Thomas and Terese Conway Scholarship.Terese Conway endowed this scholarshipto honor her late husband, Thomas, a pro-fessor of history at Oakton who touchedcountless lives during his long tenure atthe College. The recipient is Neethu Peter.

Rising Stars continued

Educational Foundation Directors Dan Luber (left), Howard Singer, and Executive Director Carlee Drummerpresent a plaque of appreciation to Jim Mandas, owner of Rosewood, to commemorate the restaurant’s generous support of the Foundation’s Stardust Ball. The gala, celebrating the Foundation’s 30th anniversary,raised a record amount for student scholarships.

Foundation Salutes Rosewood Restaurant

The Educational Foundation hosted its annual dinner July 25 at the Westmoreland Country Club in Wilmette.Among those attending were (standing, from left) Arnold Cowen, American Designer Cabinets; Mark Kraus,Rabjohns Financial Group/New England Financial; Jim Pribel, Chicago Mercantile Exchange; Howard Singer,Foundation president; Sharon Rossmark, Allstate Insurance Company; Rosemary Geisler; Joan Richards,Wheels Inc.; Don Hermanek, Insurance Auto Auctions; Brian Little, HSBC-North America; Fred Thompson,Bank One (retired); Carlee Drummer, executive director of the Educational Foundation; Dan Luber, LawsonProducts; (seated, from left): Allen Kravis, United Stationers (retired); Don Fisher, Fischer ContainerCorporation; Jody Wadhwa, Board of Trustees liaison; Sylvia Footlik, Footlik & Associates; Margaret Lee,president of Oakton; Harry Tankus, John Crane, Inc. (retired); Jerry Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Inc.; Joan DiLeonardi, Board of Trustees liaison; Carolyn Noonan Parmer, attorney (retired).

Foundation Hosts Annual Dinner

Wentcher Scholars Celebrate in ChicagoErnest C. Wentcher (center), one of Oakton’s most generous benefactors, recently hosted a celebration for theWentcher Scholarship recipients in downtown Chicago. Mr. Wentcher provides full tuition support for 20Oakton students each year who intend to continue their education at a four-year college or university.Attending the party were (from left) Dustin Santiago; Alain Dario Castaneda-Ballard; Thomas Milan; Siobhan Mischke; Kristin Santiago; Monica Johnson; and Kimberly Dotseth.

Lost Music of VictorNeustadtl Premieresat Oakton

In October, the EducationalFoundation hosted a rare performance of the lost music of Victor Neustadtl. A contem-porary of the renowned GustavMahler, Neustadtl composed the opera Das Innere Licht,performed in Prague in 1930under the legendary conductorKurt Adler. Nazis destroyed theoriginal composition, andNeustadtl’s works were thoughtto be lost forever. Other workssurvived, however, and recently were discovered by Neustadtl’sgranddaughter, DodieWeinstein, who lives inGlenview. The premier concertfeatured soprano AmyZumfelde, associate professor of German and humanities at Oakton, with historical commentary by opera scholarPatrick Casali, and pianoaccompaniment by GarfieldSallman. Proceeds from theevent benefited the StudentScholarship Fund.

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Time is running out for those seekingto take advantage of a special gift-ing opportunity available through

the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Thedeadline is December 31, 2007.

Seniors who are over age 701/2 are ableto gift a charity up to $100,000 directlyfrom their individual retirement accounts(IRAs)—without including the amount intheir taxable income. While the IRA giftdoes not qualify for a charitable deduction,no taxes are paid on the withdrawal.

Making a gift to charity directly froman IRA can be a tax-saving strategy forseniors receiving Social Security.Individuals with incomes greater than$25,000 or couples filing jointly withincomes of more than $32,000 may havetheir Social Security payments taxed up to85 percent. Every year, more retirees aretaxed on their benefits because the originalformula does not get adjusted annually asroutinely happens with other income taxbrackets. Plus, the IRS formula requiresthat retirees include “tax free” money thatusually is excluded from other tax purposes,such as proceeds from tax-free municipalbonds or Roth accounts. Many seniors dis-like these federal rules about taxing socialsecurity payouts. After all, they alreadyhave paid taxes on the money.

Since the IRA rollover to a qualifiedcharity like the Oakton Educational

Last Chance for IRA GiftingFoundation satisfies part or all of the mini-mum distribution requirement, giving char-itable gifts from an IRA can help seniorsmaintain a lower taxable income and thusavoid paying some or all of this tax.

IRA transfers to charity also may be helpful to seniors:• Who are required to take minimum

withdrawals but don’t need additional income;

• Who live in states where a charitable deduction is not available for state tax purposes (e.g., Massachusetts);

• Who do not itemize and who make charitable gifts in an amount less than thecurrent standard deduction;

• Whose major assets reside in their IRAs and wish to make significant charitable gifts before the end of 2007.

Pursuant to IRS Circular 230 on federal taxmatters, any US federal tax advice in this article is not intended or written to be used,and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for thepurpose of avoiding penalties that may beimposed on the taxpayer, and the advice waswritten to support the promotion of the transaction(s) or matter(s) mentioned herein.Taxpayers should seek advice based on theirparticular circumstances from an independenttax advisor. For information about making aIRA charitable gift to the Oakton EducationalFoundation, please call Lisa Fischer at847.635.1611.

The Oakton Educational Foundationproudly announces the appointment of

Arnold D. Cowen to its board of directors.A longtime friend of the College, Cowen ispresident and owner of American DesignerCabinets, Inc., a Wilmette-based companyhe founded in 2005. Prior to starting hisown business, Cowen, a 42-year resident ofWilmette, worked as a store and sales man-

Foundation Welcomes New Directorager for Kitchen Distributors of Americafor two decades. Cowen holds a bachelor’sdegree in business from RooseveltUniversity. When he is not working in thebuilding trade, Cowen enjoys theater,travel, and rooting for local sports teams.His wife Phyllis is the executive director of Centre East in Skokie.

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Arnold Cowen and his wife Phyllisat the annual Scholarship Banquet.

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Another popular “auction item” was theopportunity to sponsor scholarships fordeserving Oakton students. Generous bidders Alice Barnhart, Paulette Levy,John Moshak, Carolyn Parmer, DoreenSchwartz, and Valerie Westphal createdthree new scholarships, which were presented at the Educational Foundation’sScholarship Banquet in September. TheFoundation this year awarded some 200scholarships to Oakton students pursuingtheir academic dreams.

Friends of Oakton gathered for a fun-filled day at the races in ArlingtonPark, on Saturday, August 18, 2007,

and raised more than $60,000 for studentscholarships. The annual fundraiser fea-tured many unique live auction items,including a golf weekend at the AmericanClub in Kohler, Wisconsin; the chance tocook with Chef Michael Maddox of LeTiti De Paris; four tickets to Jersey Boys atLaSalle Bank Theater; and a 1.5 carat dia-mond heart pendant from Wahl Jewelers.

Ready, Set . . . Celebrate

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1. Big wins mean big smiles for(standing, from left) Gary Ziols, PatDalzell, Patty Opfer, Sue Schuldt,and Sandy Chambers; and (seated,from left) Sue Ziols, Noel Dalzell,Kurt Schuldt, and Dan Chambers.

2. Marilyn Appelson (standing,left) and Foundation senior vicepresident Sylvia Footlik (standing,right), watch the races with friendsFred and Corky Lane.

3. Foundation directors AllenKravis (left) and Jim Pribel get akick out of their “photo finish.”

4. Steve Amari waits for the perfect cut.

5. Pam Hermanek (left) andFoundation director Joan Richardsmodel two live auction items.

6. Diamonds get more attentionthan horses from Foundation assistant Kate Tillotson (left) andDorri Kraus, who admire the liveauction item from Wahl Jewelers.

7. Auctioneer Norm Andrewsexcites the crowd.

8. Foundation director Brian Littlewith wife Anise (front) enjoy theafternoon with (back row, from left)Jessie Abrams, Loretta Abrams,George Okammor, and ChenaiOkammor.

9. Hedging no bets, Karen Plendland Ed Santos enjoy the races.

10. Foundation director DanielLuber and Karen Wickman lookforward to the live auction.

11. Foundation director MarkKraus and wife Dorri celebratetheir winnings.

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Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDDes Plaines, ILPermit No. 385

Oakton Community College Educational Foundation1600 E. Golf Road, Des Plaines, IL 60016

The Foundation Digest commemorates the Educational Foundation’s past and future com-mitment to Oakton Community College. Published three times a year, the Digest containsnews about College programs and services and reports on Foundation accomplishments.

D gestEDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION

This annual fundraisershowcases Chicago’s bestlegal minds in parodies of political, sports, and show business celebrities.

A reception follows the performance.

Tickets are $75.

Call 847-635-1893.

Proceeds benefit the OaktonEducational FoundationScholarship Fund and theCharles N. Goodnow ChicagoBar Association Scholarship.

Save the DateThe Chicago Bar Association’s 84th Annual

CHRISTMAS SPIRITS REVUE

Saturday, January 26, 20088:30 p.m., Footlik Theater, Des Plaines Campus

Sponsored by the Oakton Community College Educational Foundation.

OFFICERSHoward S. Singer, PresidentSylvia Footlik, Senior Vice PresidentBrian K. Little, Vice PresidentCarolyn Noonan Parmer, Vice PresidentJames Pribel, TreasurerCarlee Drummer, Executive Director

BOARD OF DIRECTORSArnold D. Cowen, American Designer CabinetsDonald E. Fisher, Fisher Container CorporationSylvia Footlik, Footlik & AssociatesRosemary P. GeislerDouglas S. Gourley, Citigroup Private BankDonald J. Hermanek, Insurance Auto AuctionsGerald A. Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, Inc.Mark H. Kraus CLU, Rabjohns Financial Group/New England FinancialAllen B. Kravis (retired), United Stationers, Inc.Margaret B. Lee, President, Oakton Community CollegeBrian K. Little, HSBC - North AmericaDaniel N. Luber, Lawson Products, Inc.Richard A. Morris, ROI ConsultantsCarolyn Noonan Parmer (retired), AttorneyJames A. Pribel, Chicago Mercantile ExchangeJoan C. Richards, Wheels, Inc.Sharon B. Rossmark, Allstate Insurance CompanyHoward S. SingerEugene Slade, Walgreen CompanyHarry Tankus (retired), John Crane, Inc.Fred E. Thompson (retired), Bank OneThomas M. Tippett (retired), Allstate Insurance CompanyRobert R. Wasson, John Crane, Inc.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES LIAISONJody Wadhwa