The McCormick Tribune Foundation has awarded a $1,000,000 grant to the Marianjoy Foundation to help fund the 14,318 square foot McCormick Tribune Comprehensive Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, which will annually provide state-of-the-art rehabilitation services to more than 13,000 individuals recovering from strokes, accidents, surgeries and other conditions.

The construction of a new 120-bed, private room, Marianjoy replacement hospital, opening next year as a state-of-the-art healing sanctuary, makes possible the renovation of the existing hospital into a modern outpatient center.

"This generous support from the McCormick Tribune Foundation will help us modernize and enlarge our outpatient rehabilitation center to accommodate the increased demand for rehabilitation indicated by local and national trends," said Kathleen C. Yosko, president and chief executive officer of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital. "We are delighted that our renovated center will bear Colonel McCormick's name since he was such a philanthropic beacon in our community, which is a short distance from his former residence, the Cantigny estate."

Plainfield resident Mary Lou Ladas was honored by the Pitch and Hit Club of Chicago as the first recipient of the "Mary Frances Beck Woman of the Year" award.

The prestigious award is given in honor of Mary Frances Veeck, wife of former White Sox owner Bill Veeck, and honors a woman for the support she gives to her husband, who is involved in his community and has a job in sports. Ladas’ husband, Don, is a sports broadcaster. He has been at WJOL Next Media for over 50 years as a sales accountant & has been a broadcaster for local high school sports in the area, including baseball, basketball, football, and bowling.

"I am so honored to be the first recipient," says Ladas, a Human Resource Representative at Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. "The feeling is truly beyond words. I am proud to have such a wonderful family, and to be rewarded for supporting my family by doing the little things I do out of love is just amazing." In 2003, Don Ladas received the Pitch and Hit Club’s

Ladas is a devoted wife and mother and previously served on the school board at St. Mary’s School in Plainfield when her children, Sheri, Angie, and Donnie were in attendance. While her husband was becoming a broadcasting legend in Joliet and Will County, Ladas has worked with various charitable ventures, attended countless sports banquets, and continues to assist in production of the Will County Sportsman, a monthly paper which features mainly bowling for the local area, but also contains information on all sports.

Annie Baccay, COO/Administrator of LifeStyle Options, recently appointed Rockford resident Susan Cram to the position of senior account executive of the company’s Rockford office.

Cram, who has more than 20 years experience in the healthcare field, was previously corporate sales manager for Alpha Christian Registry, Inc. in Aurora.

Cram is the past president of the Rockford professional organization, Admissions, Discharge Planners, Marketing Ideas Together (ADMIT) and serves on a committee of the Alzheimer’s Association. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin.