Concordia announces Awards for Excellence

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Updated: April 18, 2012 8:15PM

Concordia University Chicago has announced that The Eli’s Cheesecake Company will receive the President’s Corporate Neighbor Award through the University’s 2012 Community Awards for Excellence in Learning and Leadership program, which also will honor Federico d’Escoto and Rick Tanksley of Oak Park.

In addition, Erin Zimdars, of Racine, Wis., will receive the university’s 2012 Student Servant Leadership Award. The annual award is presented to a Concordia-Chicago junior for significant and outstanding leadership service to the surrounding communities and the university.

Concordia will present the awards at a special banquet March 23 at Oak Park Country Club in River Grove. The community is invited to attend. Individual tickets are $150 each, with proceeds supporting need-based scholarships for local students attending Concordia University Chicago. At the banquet, Concordia also will announce and recognize this year’s scholarship recipients.

For tickets, contact the University Events office at (708) 209-3555 or bethany.hein@CUChicago.edu. Event sponsorship opportunities are also offered.

For more information, contact Tyler Timm at tyler.timm@cuchicago.edu or (708) 209-3074. All gifts are tax-deductible.

Established in 2003, the Community Awards for Excellence recognize extraordinary contributions by individuals and organizations in Chicago’s suburbs to community leadership, education and humanitarianism.

The President’s Corporate Neighbor Award: The Eli’s Cheesecake Company

The Eli’s Cheesecake Company is recipient of the President’s Corporate Neighbor Award for its exceptional community leadership and outreach, most notably its educational and community partnerships. Founded by Eli Schulman, the organization now produces more than 20,000 cheesecakes daily. Currently, Marc S. Schulman is president of the company, which has been a Chicago staple for decades.

Eli’s is committed to supporting the Chicago Public Schools, with Marc Schulman as a longtime supporter of the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences and is co-chair of its Business Advisory Board. This past summer, Wright College and Eli’s jointly sponsored a Summer Sustainable Agriculture Program for students of CHSAS.

Eli’s and Wright College maintain educational and community partnerships that include a series of classes for Eli’s associates in areas including food safety and business writing. The organizations also jointing sponsor a weekly Farmers’ Market during the summer.

Outstanding Community Leadership: Federico d’Escoto

Federico D’Escoto is owner and president of d’Escoto, Inc., an organization offering multi-disciplinary construction services to public and private clients. Active in the community, d’Escoto volunteers at Hesed House in Aurora, Ill., serves as a Eucharistic minister for Aurora Manor Nursing Home and helps the Marmino Abby Monks sell Christmas trees.

d’Escoto serves as president of the Hispanic American Construction Industry Association, which is an advocacy organization for minority- and women-owned construction firms that works to ensure the equitable participation of its constituents in the construction industry; served as co-chair for the March of Dimes; and as 2006-2010 Board Secretary for the United Neighborhood Organization, an organization that seeks to build grass-roots leadership within Chicago’s Hispanic neighborhoods and to organize and address local issues.

Outstanding Community Leadership: Rick Tanksley

Since 2001, Rick Tanksley serves as Chief of Police of the Oak Park Police Department. He has more than 17 years of service dedicated to the Oak Park police force. Tanksley, a principal architect of the Village’s Community Policing Program, is a strong advocate of civilian participation in keeping watch and alerting the police of suspicious activities.

A graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Senior Management Institute of Police, Tanksley has also served as chairman of a Homeland Security Committee for all of Cook County. Tanksley has recently accepted a Visionary Award on behalf of the Oak Park Police Department, which was recognized for three decades of dedicated partnership with Sarah’s Inn in the fight against domestic violence.

Student Servant Leadership Award: Erin Zimdars

Erin Zimdars, a communication major and marketing and International business minor from Racine, Wis., will receive the Student Servant Leadership Award. Established in 2004, the Student Servant Leadership Award recognizes a Concordia junior for consistent service leadership above and beyond university service projects. It provides a scholarship to be applied to the student’s senior year at Concordia.

A member of the University’s Honor Program, Zimdars has served the community through volunteer work. She currently serves as the president of Colleges Against Cancer, an Illinois chapter of the American Cancer Society. Zimdars has also volunteered for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life event hosted annually on Concordia’s campus.