ExxonMobil Community Philanthropic Award

Recipients
2010 – Brent Wadsworth
2012 – David & Susan Landahl
2013 – John & Joanne Carnagio
2014 – Northern Illinois Steel Supply Company & the Ruth family
2015 – Mike Rittof
2016 – Terry & Sue D’Arcy
2017 – Morris Hospital & Healthcare Centers
2018 – Chuck & Donna Szoke
2019 – Aux Sable
2021 Individual – Tricia Simpson
2021 Corporate – Hollywood Casino Joliet
2022 Individuals – John & Aileen Cotter
2022 Corporate – Constellation
2023 Individuals – Ronald & Mary Ann Lehman
2023 Corporate – Ozinga

Ronald & Mary Ann Lehman
2023 ExxonMobil Individual Community Philanthropic Award Recipients

Mary Ann and Ron met at Northern Illinois University. They married while Ron served in the Army and Mary Ann was finishing her degree in Science, and minor in Spanish. Ron and Mary Ann Lehman settled in the Channahon area in the late 1950s when both started teaching locally.

When Ron took 12 hours of parks and recreation for his physical education degree at Northern Illinois University, he simply fulfilled a requirement for his future career as a school coach. But those 12 hours turned into more than 50 years of serving park districts locally, and on a state and national level.

With some encouragement and support from Mary Ann, Ron began serving as a Commissioner for the Channahon Park District from almost the beginning, joining the board exactly eight months after the Park District was created on August 13, 1971.

As a Park District Commissioner, Ron was instrumental in achieving the District’s long-sought plans for an aquatic facility and a golf course in 1993, with the opening of Tomahawk Aquatic Center and Heritage Bluffs Golf Club.

Ron greatly values community partnerships, which has helped the Park District grow and expand its services to the community. The most significant was the development of Heritage Crossing Field House with Channahon School District 17 in 2003. Another more recent partnership with the Channahon Township brought Sengo Adventure Garden to the community in 2019, the first inclusive playground in the area.

Ron is a founding member of the People for Channahon Parks Foundation, a 501(c)3 not for profit organization that solicits support for the Channahon Park District. Founded in 2009, the Foundation has raised over $2M to build Arroyo Trails, a unique and popular 78-acre nature park and trail that is managed by the Channahon Park District.

On a state level, Ron was recognized for his dedication to the Park District when he was awarded the 1993 Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD) Commissioner of the Year Award and the 2007 Illinois Parks and Recreation Association (IPRA) Distinguished Service to Leisure Award.

In additional to his service and dedication to the Channahon Park District, locally, Ron is a retired principal of Minooka Community High School, a former Village of Channahon Trustee, charter member of the Channahon-Minooka Rotary Club, served as a board member and chairman of the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission, and was named the 1996 Village of Channahon Citizen of the Year.

As a state leader Ron served on the IAPD Board of Trustees for eight years, two of which he served as president. As a national leader Ron served on the NRPA Board of Directors for 12 years, serving as Chairman for six of those years. In 1997 Ron was named the NRPA Great Lakes Region Citizen Board Member of the Year. Ron is also a founding member of the National Association of Park Foundations where the prestigious Lehman Award was established to recognize excellence in park foundations.

Ron & Mary Ann reside in Channahon and have three daughters, Rhonda, Lori, and Kristine. Mary Ann is a retired teacher, teaching for 28 years, and is very involved in Church and other volunteer activities.

​2023 ExxonMobil Corporate Community Philanthropic Award Recipient

Ozinga is a fifth-generation family-owned American business in the construction materials industry. We make a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community for generations by providing concrete, aggregates and cement that help build a better future.

Established in 1928 in Evergreen Park, Illinois, as a small coal and coke yard, Ozinga survived the Great Depression and World War II before becoming one of the first ready mix providers in the region. We have continuously expanded our product and service offerings to faithfully meet the needs of builders throughout Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and South Florida.

Ozinga has nearly 2,000 coworkers and continues to grow. As our story continues, we will use our principles to build a better future for our coworkers, communities, customers, and country, and make the world better because we were all here working together.

At Ozinga, we are committed to tithing at least 10% of pretax profits in the communities where we live, work and play. To accomplish this, it requires finding nonprofit partners like The People for Channahon Parks Foundation. Last year, we donated to 450 nonprofit organizations and are thankful for the services they provide. One of the greatest joys we have is seeing the community use a building, complex, park or field that we helped build.

Other areas of focus are our commitment to energy efficiency, the Ozinga Kids Club and our specialty mixer trucks. Ozinga continues to seek new, green alternatives, and several of our fleet locations have switched from diesel to natural gas. We also offer carbon-neutral concrete products and continue to innovate our material offerings. The Ozinga Kids Club, which is a free program, has more than 7,500 members and sends kids birthday treats and surprise gifts throughout the year. It also gives us an opportunity to educate children on the construction industry. Ozinga also has two specialty trucks, our Pink Truck and our Merry Mixer. The Pink Truck is dedicated to raising awareness for breast cancer. This truck attends numerous breast cancer-related events throughout the year, and in the month of October, we donate the proceeds from that truck to the American Cancer Society. Our Merry Mixer is a holiday-themed truck decked in 32,000 LED lights synchronized to a musical display. This truck makes it way to many events from November to December, bringing joy to many communities.

The residents of Channahon are fortunate to have the People for Channahon Parks Foundation, whose fundraising efforts brought Arroyo Trails, A Discovery Woodlands to the area. We look forward to being a partner of theirs for many more generations.