Most Sunday mornings you can find my wife and me at Cafe Olympic in Crystal Lake enjoying breakfast. It’s a popular spot with good food and a manageable wait.
The staff is a fun group, including Carrie Timmons, a firecracker of a server. You can’t miss Carrie as she zips throughout the cafe taking orders, delivering dishes and filling coffee mugs. And she always remembers that my wife and I like a cup of extra ice with our iced tea.
This month, Carrie celebrates 30 years with the downtown Crystal Lake diner. She started working there while in college and she never left.
We, and likely thousands of other customers over the years, enjoy seeing her familiar face each visit.
Congratulations Carrie.
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS: Six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen was in Richmond last week to hype his Digits bourbon during a stop at The International House of Wine and Cheese, 11302 Route 12. It was a packed house to see the former Chicago Bulls forward and NBA Hall of Famer.
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It got me thinking, what’s the most famous person you have met during their visit to McHenry County? Send me a note about a celebrity you have encountered and I’ll share some of your stories in a future column.
40 YEARS FOR FOOD BANK: The Northern Illinois Food Bank, which serves McHenry and 12 other counties, is marking its 40th anniversary of “solving hunger and empowering neighbors throughout Northern Illinois.” The organization is celebrating this milestone with a new logo.
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The Food Bank was founded in 1983 by Sister Rosemarie Burian of Wheaton. The organization says Sister Burian witnessed people in her community “suffering from food insecurity and knew there was a surplus of food available.” This prompted her to start the Food Bank. In the first month, the Food Bank delivered 7,000 pounds of food.
Today, the Food Bank reports it has a network of more than 900 food pantries, soup kitchens and other programs to provide 78 million meals a year to neighbors.
It relies on the help of donors, volunteers and community partners. To learn about the Food Bank’s history, how to get groceries, donate or volunteer, visit: SolveHungerToday.org.
• Dennis Anderson, vice president of news & content development for Shaw Media, lives in Crystal Lake. Share your Community Exchange news with him at danderson@shawmedia.com.
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