DeKalb County Clerk and Recorder Tasha Sims says she grew up on “Easy Street” in Sycamore, but her Classification speech revealed that was far from an accurate description of her real-life story.  She can trace her family’s roots to the local area as far back as her great grandparents.  She lived with her mom and stepdad near North School while growing up but by the time she was in high school her mom and stepdad divorced and she opted to move-in with a boyfriend.  She found herself working the evening shift at Brown’s Market while going to school during the day.  She was able to work her way up to greater responsibility at Brown’s and eventually was manager for the store’s second shift.    Admitting that she did not always make wise choices, Sims ended up a single mom trying to make ends meet.

 

Thanks to support from her grandparents, Sims was able to complete course work at Kishwaukee College.  Her skills opened the door for a job in County government working for County Clerk Sharon Holmes.  Needing money to support herself and her child, she worked for a time at both the county and Brown’s market.  Her pattern of volunteering to help other co-workers and learn new skills paid off with greater levels of job responsibilities in the county.  She said she was fortunate to meet the man who would become her husband on a first date in 2012 and they now have three more children in their family.

 

Reflecting on her life experiences, Sims said many of her greatest learnings were from things that didn’t go well.  She said she was never a student of politics and never expected to be the elected county clerk and recorder.  She said she is “super thankful” for the role she has been given to serve the citizens of DeKalb County.  For her personally, Sims said she looks forward to time she can spend at home with her family.  She said she also enjoys the people contacts she makes while volunteering for various local charitable causes.

Tickets are $25.00 each and we have a total of 600 tickets to sell. Three winning tickets for the following amounts will be drawn during the Rotary Holiday Party on 12/20/2023:

Dear Friends of Make a Difference DKC,

Thank you for supporting our 14th annual Make A Difference DKC MobilePack event for Feed My Starving Children! Once again, DeKalb County has shown its compassion and generosity for this life saving work.

The results for our event this year are shown below. Because of your generosity and willingness to volunteer, Feed My Starving Children and their in-country partners around the world will be able to provide 3,259 kids a meal every day for the next year!

 

In addition to this year’s results, the table below shows the combined totals for the history of the event. At 14 years and counting, our local event is one of the longest running MobilePack events in the United States. I feel truly blessed to live and work in a community that is so willing to sacrifice for the good of the children who so desperately need to be fed in both body and spirit. We are already looking forward to our 15th annual event which will be held November 14-17, 2024.

 

“Let us not become weary in doing good.” Galatians 6:9

I wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas season!

 

God Bless,

 

Tim Suter
President
Make A Difference DKC

December 5, 1901 – Animator, voice actor, producer, entertainer, and the creator of Mickey Mouse, Walt Disney, is born in Chicago.  During his storied career he wins a record 22 Motion Picture Oscars dominating the Best Animated Film category.

 

December 6, 1896 – Famed lyricist Ira Gershwin is born in New York City.  He collaborated with his brother George to become a musical powerhouse team that includes the Pulitzer Prize winning musical play “Of Thee I Sing.”

 

December 8, 1765 – Cotton gin inventor Eli Whitney is born in Westboro, Massachusetts.  His invention that removes seeds from harvested cotton prompts yearly cotton production in the U. S. to jump from about 3,000 bales a year to 73,000 bales a year.

 

December 9, 1886 – American inventor and founder of the modern frozen food industry with a company that bears his name, Clarence Birdseye, is born in Brooklyn, New York.

December 5, 1933 – Prohibition ends when the 21^st Amendment to the Constitution is ratified.  It repeals the 18^th Amendment which made the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquor illegal.

 

December 6, 1877 – At his laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, Thomas Edison spoke the children’s verse “Mary had a Little Lamb…” while demonstrating his newly-invented phonograph.

 

December 7, 1941 – The Japanese attack the U. S. Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii leaving 2,403 Americans dead and leading to the U. S. entry into World War II.

 

December 9, 1990 – Labor leader Lech Walesa wins a landslide victory in the Polish presidential election becoming their first democratically elected head of state since communist rule began after World War II.