The 103-year-old Forest Park Kiwanis Club, composed of volunteers dedicated to serving the community and its children, will recognize two locals at its annual awards dinner on Oct. 15 at Jimmy’s Place in Forest Park.
Dan Watts, president of Forest Park Bank, will be given Kiwanis’ first Commonwealth Award, recognizing him for meritorious service to the quality of life in Forest Park. And Ken Snyder will receive the Ed O’Shea Award, which recognizes meritorious service to young people in Forest Park.
“In a commonwealth, all members of the community are able to flourish. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. A rising tide lifts every boat in the harbor,” said Jerry Lordan, incoming Kiwanis president, of the new award. Jill Wagner, circulation and reader engagement manager at the Forest Park Review, is the outgoing president.
“One of the things which makes our community special is the presence of locally owned and operated businesses,” Lordan said. “The Forest Park Bank is an important factor in this success story.”
The Ed O’Shea Award is named after a longtime Kiwanian and village attorney. Lordan said Snyder received the award largely for his role as scout leader in Forest Park and in helping launch the Proviso 209 Scholarship.
Commonwealth Award
When Lordan called Watts to tell him he won Kiwanis’ inaugural Commonwealth Award, Watts said, “I was honored, and I was kind of taken aback. There are a lot of people who do a lot of great things for Forest Park, so I feel very honored to accept that award.”
Watts has been a member of Kiwanis for over 25 years. Now a River Forest resident, he previously lived in Forest Park and was a Forest Park village commissioner for two terms. Around that time, Watts said he started volunteering with Kiwanis.
“We did a lot of very good things for the community during those years, and Kiwanis continues to do a lot of good things for the community,” Watts told the Review. One of those good things that sticks out to Watts is when a Kiwanis member dressed up as Santa and brought bags of toys to local children. “It was a really wonderful Christmas Day surprise for a number of needy and deserving families.”
As recipient of the Commonwealth Award, Watts has helped improve quality of life in Forest Park, through leading Forest Park Bank and his time on the village council.
“The bank is the lender to most of the businesses in Forest Park,” Watts said. Bank staff also helps locals with mortgages and deposit services — all while competing with larger banking institutions.
“I think what we bring is high touch while maintaining the technology that’s necessary to operate in today’s environment,” Watts said. “Our technology is good, but our high touch for those of our depositors and borrowers who don’t have the knowledge or ability to handle the technology is very helpful to a large portion of our population, many of which are older.”
Watts also served on the village council.
“While I was commissioner, we did a lot of aggressive and forward-thinking things,” Watts said.
He was a part of the council that created Forest Park’s first TIF district for the area around Walmart, and which helped provide grants to local businesses on Madison Street. The council he was on also acquired some of the pocket parks that the park district now operates. And improved the housing stock through more-focused zoning and property inspections.
Watts is also a co-owner of O’Sullivan’s Public House with his brother, Jim.
“That’s a very social networking spot for a large portion of the people who are in Forest Park,” Watts said. “People love Madison Street, and we, among many of the restaurants, really cater to the sense of community within the boundaries of Forest Park.”
As he’s honored after more than 25 years with Kiwanis, Watts said he hopes a new generation joins the organization.
“I’m on the older side of the people who have participated in many of these social and fraternal organizations, but I think they’re an important component to a well-rounded community,” Watts said. “I would encourage participation within those fraternal and social organizations for younger people who are interested in keeping the culture and the community feel of the town itself.”
Ed O’Shea Award
When Snyder found out he’d be recognized for his service to Forest Park youth, he was surprised and flattered.
“I’m not the most well-known person in the community,” Snyder told the Review. “I know that I’ve done a lot of things for the youth, so I’m very proud of that, but I think it’s an indication that people can have a really big impact on kids in our community by stepping up in ways that aren’t the most public.”
Snyder credits those he worked with in scouts and on the 209 Scholarship for Proviso students for his recognition.
“There are dozens of other people who volunteer as scout leaders, for the scholarship and other things. I did that stuff as part of a group,” he said.
Though he’s not a member of Kiwanis, for many years, Snyder led Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts in Forest Park, which are sponsored by Kiwanis. He helped with local scouts from the time his two boys were in first grade through early high school.
Snyder has assisted Cub Scouts with learning about outdoor skill building, civics and their responsibilities as members of the community. And in Boy Scouts, he helped boys understand how to be leaders.
A decade ago, Snyder helped launch the 209 Scholarship, of which Kiwanis is a fiscal sponsor. The scholarship has funded more than $150,000 for 96 Proviso Township high school graduates as they pursue trade school or college.
“Proviso doesn’t have the same resources that our neighboring communities have,” Snyder said. “Our students didn’t have access to scholarships that are kind of taken for granted in other places, so a lot of us felt the need to support the students and our community members in that way.”
Funding for the scholarship comes entirely from Proviso residents and community organizations.
“That’s one of the really special things about the scholarship is that money isn’t coming from wherever. It’s people in the community supporting students,” Snyder said.
Every year, there are two scholarships awarded.
“One, which we call ‘Overcoming Adversity,’ is for students that might have lower GPAs but have shown that they have what it takes to succeed,” Snyder said. The other one is for students with higher GPAs, “who have excelled throughout high school.”
Previous Ed O’Shea Award recipients include, but are not limited to: Joe Byrnes, Scott Entler, Dave Novak, Larry Piekarz, Karen Dylewski, Tony Calderone, Sharon O’Shea, Mike Mohr, Dorothy Gillian, Pat Malone, Richard ‘Chubbs’ Polfus, and Jackie Schulz.
The annual Kiwanis awards dinner is Oct. 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Jimmy’s Place, 7411 W Madison St., Forest Park. Buy tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kiwanis-award-dinner-tickets-1997983160417.