October 27, 2024
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Founder of Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization honored

Mayor of New Lenox also honored Niemann with a proclamation

By Denise M. Baran-Unland
Tim Baldermann, mayor of New Lenox, honored Judy Niemann, a founder of the the Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization with a proclamation a crystal plaque at a recent New Lenox Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Tim Baldermann, mayor of New Lenox, honored Judy Niemann, a founder of the Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization with a proclamation a crystal plaque at a recent New Lenox Chamber of Commerce meeting. (Photo provided by Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization)

The Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization recently honored Judy Niemann, a founding member of the club.

New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann also honored Niemann with a proclamation and a crystal plaque at a recent New Lenox Chamber of Commerce meeting.

The Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization honored Niemann for her “tireless support” as well as chairing the organization’s Christmas Auction for more than 30 years, according to a news release from LWABWO. Niemann stepped down as auction chair two years ago, according to the release.

The Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization held its annual Christmas auction on Dec. 6. The auction helps fund scholarships for women planning to attend a college, university, trade school or junior college and for women in the community who are continuing their education.

The Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization held its annual Christmas auction on Dec. 6. The auction helps fund scholarships for women planning to attend a college, university, trade school or junior college and for women in the community who are continuing their education. (Photo provided by the Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization )

Other founding legacy members of the organization include Audrey Newton, Marilyn Kurtz and Kay Hegarty.

The organization was founded in the 1970s to raise money for scholarships for young women in the community, according to the release.

The club is rooted in the late 1960s, when Niemann, her mother Betty Dunn and several women in the Lincoln-Way community belonged to a local chapter of an international group of businesswomen, according to the release.

Tim Baldermann, mayor of New Lenox, honored Judy Niemann, a founder of the Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization with a proclamation a crystal plaque at a recent New Lenox Chamber of Commerce meeting.

Tim Baldermann, mayor of New Lenox, honored Judy Niemann, a founder of the Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization with a proclamation a crystal plaque at a recent New Lenox Chamber of Commerce meeting. (Photo provided by Lincoln-way Area Business Women’s Organization)

The chapter met in the basement of the former Bruns restaurant at the corner of Route 30 and Cedar Road, where CVS pharmacy is currently located.

Eventually, the women decided they wanted to form a local organization to support women in their own community, focusing on supporting scholarships for girls at the local schools. The scholarship award was $250 when the club started, with a continuing education scholarship added later.

The main fundraiser was the Christmas Auction of handmade crafts and baked goods, which initially was held in the Bruns restaurant basement and eventually moved to its current location at the Harry E. Anderson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9545 in New Lenox.

In 2024, 26 scholarship recipients were honored at a celebration dinner at Gatto’s in New Lenox. Each young woman received a $1,450 scholarship.

On June 18, the Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization honored its 26 scholarship recipients at a celebration dinner at Gatto’s in New Lenox.

On June 18, the Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization honored its 26 scholarship recipients at a celebration dinner at Gatto’s in New Lenox. (Photo provided by the Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization)

In 2008, the club began its Act of Kindness, according to the release. A free-will collection is taken at each meeting and then donated to a local group or person in need, such as Shorewood HUGS, Wreaths Across America, Furiends of Manhattan pet pantry and a local mother fighting breast cancer, according to the release.

Niemann worked with her mother’s real estate company, Dunn & Niemann Real Estate, and still works in real estate, according to the release. She married at 18 and had her son, Keith, at 19. He accompanied her on real estate calls, according to the release. Niemann has two grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, Mary Elizabeth.

For more information, visit lwabwo.org.

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