Business Spotlight

Monaghan Insurance: A Policy of Commitment to Customers and Community

Darien insurance broker carries on the family tradition.

Kevin Monaghan was the youngest of seven children. He admired his father’s professionalism and emphasis on family. Today, he’s walking in his father’s footsteps as the current owner of Monaghan Insurance. Monaghan’s father was a Navy gunner in World War II. But the residual effects of a childhood accident eventually led to surgery and a medical discharge. After his recovery, Travelers Insurance hired him as a salesman. His success there encouraged him to build his own insurance brokerage business—Monaghan Insurance—in 1942. Several sons eventually joined him in the business. “Everyone in Hillside knew John Monaghan," Monaghan said. "He had a store right on Wolf Road. We had a yellow Volvo with ‘Monaghan Insurance’ on it. And (Dad) would …

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EJH Wrestlers Take 4th in State, Honored by Mayor

The Eisenhower Junior High Wrestling Team took its fourth-consecutive top four title at the state championship meet.

For the fourth year in a row, the Eisenhower Junior High Wrestling Team placed within the top four teams at the state tournament. Mayor Kathleen Weaver and the rest of the City Council honored the team by proclaiming April 20, 2012, Eisenhower Junior High Wrestling Team Day. Individual accomplishments include: The team’s coaches are Phil Esposito, Kevin Dunne, Eric Albian and Jamaal Williams.

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Community Comes Out for Darien Lions Club Pancake Breakfast (PHOTOS)

The Darien Lions hosted their 41st annual pancake breakfast Sunday at Eisenhower Junior High.

Got your own pictures from the Lions Club's Pancake Breakfast at Eisenhower Junior High? Add them to our gallery!

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Darien Woman's Club Art Fair Celebrates Kids' Creativity

The art fair took place Sunday at Eisenhower Junior High.

The following was submitted by Nicki Belczak:  The Creative Youth Art Fair is staged by the Darien Woman's Club as part of its commitment to contributing to the good of the community. Event Chairwomen Marie Anderson, Gerrie Larson and Gayle Szpytek noted, "In recognizing their artistic efforts, we hope to foster a positive attitude toward creativity and artistic expression in Darien youth, as well as give area children a chance to show their talents to the community at large." This year’s event drew one of our biggest entries ever: 677 pieces of original artwork—paintings, drawings, sculptures and photography—in six media categories, plus poetry, were on display Sunday, Feb. 26, from 2:00–3:30 p.m. at Eisenhower Junior High School. An …

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District 61 Spelling Bee Champ Cuts Through the Competition

Brett Haffner has won two bees by correctly spelling the word "scythe." Next week he'll take on the county bee.

It was the final round of the District 61 Spelling Bee. Eisenhower Junior High sixth-grader Brett Haffner, 11, only needed to spell one more word correctly to win. The word he got was "scythe."  Brett instantly relaxed. He knew this one. In fact, it was the same word that won him his language arts’ class spelling bee. “Oh yes, I was very lucky,” he said. Brett breezed through spelling that final word and will represent District 61 in the DuPage County Spelling Bee on Feb. 21 in Lisle. “It was an amazing feeling that I got to win,” Brett said. Spelling is Brett’s favorite subject. Although it comes naturally to him, he said he studied the whole list of practice words for several nights before the district bee.  Still, he said he was nervous…

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Students Raise More than $22K for Cancer Research

The Cancer Smashers event raised funds to benefit the Robert H. Lurie Center at Northwestern University.

They’re called the Cancer Smashers. It’s no wonder, then, that their winter fundraiser was such a smashing success. Students in District 61 and District 66 raised $22,676.96 over the course of the past week to help fund cancer research at Northwestern University’s Robert H. Lurie Center.  “I’m extremely proud of all the students from both districts that they came together to raise this much money in one week,” said Eisenhower Junior High Principal Mike Fitzgerald. “I think it’s amazing.”  EJH and Lace School raised a combined total of $14,000, while Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High took in just more than $8,600. All of the money raised will go directly to the Lurie Center, organizer Beth Tischler said. The Cancer Smashers …

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Local Students Rally to Wipe Out Cancer

The Cancer Smashers kicked off a fundraising competition Friday with a rally at Eisenhower Junior High.

One dollar at a time, the kids in District 61 and District 66 are hoping to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Positive energy filled Eisenhower Junior High’s gym Friday as the students kicked off a weeklong fundraiser for the Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern University. Students from Lace Elementary and EJH will compete against the kids at Prairieview Elementary and Lakeview Junior High to see which district can raise the most funds. They’ll raise the money by selling paper fists for $1 — fists that represent their goal of knocking out cancer. The fundraiser is the brainchild of Beth Tischler, who chairs Cancer Smashers, a youth offshoot of the H Foundation, a local group that raises money for cancer research. “I …

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Cancer Smashers Prep for Fundraising Contest

Lace Elementary School students learned Wednesday about the cancer research fundraiser, which will take place the last week in January.

If sheer enthusiasm could cure cancer, the disease would have a mighty foe in the students at Lace Elementary School.  The third- through fifth-graders at Lace filled the school gym with cheers Wednesday as Cancer Smashers chair Beth Tischler rallied them in support of an upcoming fundraiser. Tischler asked every student who knows someone who has been diagnosed with cancer to raise his hand. The gym filled with tiny, raised palms.  She called to the front of the room members of Cancer Smashers, a group of local schoolchildren dedicated to supporting cancer research.  “These people in front of you have decided they’re tired of cancer,” she said. During the last week in January, with the help of Cancer Smashers, Lace will join forces with …

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Former Darien Resident Named Rhodes Scholar

Ishan Nath spent his elementary school years in Darien. Next stop for the Stanford senior: Oxford.

Even as a student at Eisenhower Junior High, Ishan Nath had his sights set on Stanford University. “He would repeatedly tell me that he was going (there),” said Lace Elementary School Principal Marty Casey, then at Eisenhower. “I never doubted for one minute that he would achieve his goal.” And sure enough Nath did. He graduates from Stanford this spring. From there, Nath heads off on his next adventure.  In November, he was named a Rhodes Scholar, one of the most prestigious honors a student can receive. Next fall he’ll start graduate studies in economic development at the University of Oxford in the U.K.  While many college students spend their summers scooping ice cream or slaving at low-level internships, Nath has focused on making a …

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