Lewis University recognized six members of the community with the De La Salle Award during a special ceremony on March 27, 2011. This prestigious award is presented each year to individuals who provide extraordinary service and leadership for the benefit of the community and region. Award recipients for 2011 were Mr. Chris Adler of Joliet, Mrs. Marilyn Farmer of Joliet, Mr. Thomas Garlitz of Joliet, Dr. Thomas Moore of Shorewood, Ms. Donna Quathamer of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Mr. Raul Raymundo of Chicago.
The De La Salle Awards Ceremony began with a Mass at 10:30 a.m. in the Sancta Alberta Chapel on the Lewis main campus in Romeoville. The presentation of the awards by Lewis University President, Brother James Gaffney, FSC, followed at 11:30 a.m. and honorees and guests then celebrated with a luncheon in the University Dining Room. The 2011 award recipients represent a diverse, talented and distinguished group of leaders, with substantial accomplishments in their professions and devotion to improving the lives of all in their communities.
Chris Adler
Chris Adler was born and raised in Joliet, Illinois, attended Joliet Catholic High School and then earned a business degree at the University of St. Francis. Adler began his career in his family business, J. L. Adler Roofing and Sheet Metal Company, and has worked at the company for 25 years. He is a third-generation family business leader and is currently the President of the Adler Roofing Company.
Adler has served as a school board and athletic board member of St. Patrick Catholic School in Joliet and as an alumni board member of Joliet Catholic Academy, where he was honored as Alumnus of the Year in 2005. He has been a member of the Council of Regents at Lewis University since 2008 and also served as Chair of the Diplomats Committee for the Will County Center for Economic Development. He has also served as a member and as Chair of the board of directors for the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce.
Adler has donated time and construction expertise as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, providing housing for low-income families. He serves as member and is past Chair of the Guardian Angel Community Services Board of Directors, an organization that assists those who suffer from abuse, emotional trauma and neglect. Adler has been a generous benefactor and volunteer for many organizations in the area, and enjoys coaching and mentoring children in youth sports within his community. Adler resides in Joliet with his wife, Lori and their four children. He and his family are active members of St. Patrick Parish.
Marilyn Farmer
Marilyn Farmer was born and raised in northwest Indiana and attended Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee before starting a successful career in the non-profit sector. From 1979 to 1996, Farmer held positions at several non-profit organizations in Indiana and Illinois, including the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, Will-Grundy Home Builders and Associates, the Hobart Family YMCA and the Southlake YMCA. She also was the Executive Director of the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce from 1996 to 1998.
In 1998, Farmer was appointed as the Executive Director of faith-based MorningStar Mission Ministries. MorningStar serves more than 130,000 meals per year to men, women and children and runs programs offering clothing and household goods, day center services, counseling, holiday gifts and transitional housing assistance. In 2007, Farmer opened the Women and Family Center at MorningStar Mission, which provides safety and hope for the hurting and hopeless.
Farmer has served on several committees for Will County Continuum of Care and is a board member of the Community Service Council of Will County. She has served on the National Board of Directors for the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions since 2009 and has been a member of the Rotary Club of Joliet. From 2005 to 2009, Farmer served as President of the Midwest District of the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions. She received the Rabbi Hershman Community Service Award in 2007 presented by the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry and has also been awarded an Honorary Humanitarian Associate of Arts Degree from Joliet Junior College. Farmer resides in Joliet with her husband, Dave, and has three children and seven grandchildren.
Thomas Garlitz
Thomas Garlitz was born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania. After high school he attended Eastern Mennonite University and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in scripture and Christian ministry in 1982. He went on to earn a master’s degree in pastoral ministry at St. Francis University in Pennsylvania in 1988.
Garlitz founded and served as Pastoral Leader of the People of God’s Glory, an ecumenical community in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania in 1987. He also helped start the Altoona New Day, a Christian ministry for at-risk children, youth, and families. In 1992, Garlitz became Director of Peace and Social Justice Ministry for the Diocese of Joliet. As Director, he has helped facilitate a growing network of persons, faith-based groups and parishes, united in their advocacy for social justice and peace, both locally and globally. He co-founded and serves as Director of Partnership in Mission, sending medical, construction and education teams to Bolivia, Ecuador, Kenya, the Philippines and the Navajo Nation. Garlitz also helped co-found the Summer Witness in Mission (SWIM) program, a local service immersion experience for junior and senior high school students.
Garlitz formed the Church of Joliet Council for Global Solidarity and Missions, the Joliet Diocese Legislative Advocacy Network and the Joliet Diocese Committee on the Environment to help strengthen the dedication to missions. His leadership has guided many to give generously and he leads many diocesan collections for humanitarian work that raise about $1 million annually. Garlitz lives in Joliet with his wife, Jenny, and they have one son.
Dr. Thomas Moore
Dr. Thomas Moore was born in Ohio and raised in Homewood and Flossmoor, Illinois. He attended high school at St. Augustine Minor Seminary in Holland, Michigan and went on to earn a bachelor of science degree in Biology from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1973.Moore received his medical degree from the Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine in Chicago in 1977. He completed his medical internship and residency in pediatrics at Cook County Hospital in Chicago and in 1978 he received Intern of the Year, while completing his residency. Moore began his medical career in 1980 with the Glenwood Medical Group.
Dr. Moore is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, the Illinois State Medical Society and the Will-Grundy Medical Society. Dr. Moore has also been a member of the Board of Directors for the Easter Seals Joliet Region for ten years, serving as President in 1994 to 1995. He has served as Associate Medical Director (Pediatrics) of the Joliet Area Community Hospice since 2005. He founded and is President and Chairman of the Joliet Area Risk Retention Group Captive Insurance Company, a malpractice insurance group. Since 2009, he has served on the Board of Directors for Provena Saint Joseph.
Dr. Moore received recognition as a Top Doctor in the Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Top Doctor Listings for the Chicago Area in 2001, 2004 and 2010. He lives in Shorewood with his wife Nancy and they have two adult sons.
Donna Quathamer
Donna Quathamer was born and raised in Chicago and graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in education in 1970 and began a career as a special education teacher in the LaGrange school district. She continued her education at Mundelein College, earning a master of arts degree in Theology in 1984. After graduation, she served as Director of Religious Education at St. Petronille Parish until 1990 and then as Pastoral Associate in the Corpus Christi Parish until 1995 when she became the Associate Director of University Ministry at Lewis University.
After visiting the San Miguel de Allende region of Mexico on Lewis University mission trips, Quathamer answered God’s call to sell her belongings and move there, where she founded Casa de los Angeles in 2000. Casa is a free Christian daycare center for underprivileged children in in the community, and families that qualify for the free service demonstrate both a need and a desire to improve their families and contribute personal hours of service to the center.
While Quathamer was at Lewis University she was awarded the Signum Fidei Distinguished Service Award in 1998 for her service work as an employee. In 2009, Donna received the Citizen of the Year Award from the San Miguel de Allende Rotary Club, presented to the area resident who best exemplifies the ideals of selfless service to the community. She serves as Executive Director of Casa de los Angelos, and is the author of Under the Pepper Tree: Stories of Casa de los Angeles. Quathamer has five grown children, and is a member of the Nuestra Senora de Soledad Church community in Atotonilco, Guanajuato.
Raul Raymundo
Raul Raymundo was born in Mexico City and raised in the Pilsen community of Chicago. He attended Carleton College and received a bachelor of arts degree in Sociology in 1988. He continued his education at the University of Chicago, where he pursued graduate studies in Public Policy.
Raymundo co-founded The Resurrection Project (TRP) in 1990 with the help of six Catholic parishes in the Pilsen area, in order to help residents address blight, crime, and other community problems. Raymundo serves as CEO of the agency, which has led to the development of over 500 units of affordable housing and has helped generate over $200 million community investment. TRP was honored with the Chicago Neighborhood Development Award for Outstanding Strategy of the Year in 2010. In 2009, TRP was recognized with the Bank of America Neighborhood Builders Award and the National Council of La Raza, Annie E. Casey Family Strengthening Award. Also, TRP has received the Courage in the Community Award from the McAuley Institute in 1996 and the Chicago Spirit Award from the Sara Lee Foundation in 1999.
Raymundo has served as President of the Carleton College Alumni Association and as a member of the Carleton College Multicultural Alumni Network. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of Chicago Metropolis 2020, the Ounce of Prevention Fund, WBEZ 91.5 FM Radio, the Chicago Workforce Investment Council, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the National Association of Latino Asset Builders and the Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy Charter High School.
He has been recognized as one of Chicago Magazine’s Top 40 Visionary Pioneers of the last 40 years in 2010. In 2009, he was awarded the Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPPPI)’s “40 Who’ve Made a Difference” Award. Raymundo received the Illinois Mortgage Bankers Association’s Affordable Housing Leadership Award in 2008, and was recognized by Chicago Magazine as one of six Chicagoans of the Year in 2000, for his outstanding leadership and civic engagement. In 2007, Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed him to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and in 2009, Cardinal Francis George appointed Raymundo to the Archdiocese of Chicago Catholic School Board. He was named a Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow in 1996. Raymundo resides in Pilsen with his wife, Maria, Luisa and their three children, where they are active members of St. Pius V Parish.
Lewis University is a Catholic university offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 6,000 traditional and adult students. Lewis offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis prepares ethically grounded, globally aware, and socially responsible graduates. The ninth largest not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.lewisu.edu for more information.
