Lemont Presents 2021 Community Spirit Awards

Lemont IL

17 December, 2021

2:31 PM

Description

LEMONT, IL — At its Wednesday meeting, the Lemont Village Board presented 2021 Community Spirit Awards to Kyle Cuiching for Taste of Lemont, the Hope and Friendship Foundation Board, and Jeff Biddinger for Tap House Grill. "We have a resident, a charity organization and a business that we want to recognize for their outstanding contributions to our community," Mayor John Egofske said. Egofske said the three award winners stood out because "they never stopped and continued to keep up the momentum of helping others in our community." Cuiching created the Taste of Lemont Facebook page last year to help support local restaurants during the pandemic. She posted menus, photos of her meals from restaurants, business hours and highlighted those who gave back to the community, Egofske said. The Facebook group now has over 4,700 members. The Hope and Friendship Foundation Board has supported the community for several years, holding fundraisers, creating care boxes and giving out holiday meals, and more, Egofske said. "When COVID came and everything shut down, you immediately stepped up and identified the additional needs of the families in our community," Egofske said. "Those that never before needed a helping hand were suddenly faced with having to figure out how to provide basic household needs for their families." Hope and Friendship worked with businesses and the community to help families in need of assistance. "You are the conduit for our community and our businesses," Egofske said. Jeff Biddinger of Tap House Grill accepted the final community spirit award on behalf of the business. "Tap House Grill has always held fundraisers for organizations, and been a supporter of various events and charity groups in our community," Egofske said. "[When businesses were shut down due to the pandemic], manager Jeff Biddinger of Tap House Grill reacted humbly and honestly when realizing what the impact of the pandemic had on his staff, having to send them home, and for who knows how long, was something he was not settling in for," Egofske said. Biddinger reached out to the community for support, and the community responded with curbside support, and soon the staff was back at work, Egofske said. Egofske said the restaurant also provided free brown bag lunches for kids in needs, made meals for essential workers, and partnered with Hope and Friendship for meals for families in need. "Not only was Tap House Grill supporting their staff and those in need in our community, but also Lemont residents," Egofske said.