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Leon McNair Memorial Fund

Established 2016

Leon McNair
Leon McNair

The Leon McNair Memorial Fund was created as a memorial to Leon McNair.

Leon McNair (1941-2016) was born in Amsterdam, New York.  He moved to Illinois where he attended Glenbard West High School. While in high school, he received the Most Valuable Player Award in Golf in 1959 and 1960.

While attending Southern Illinois University, he played on the university’s five-man golf team that won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 1964. In 1966, he received a degree in advertising and public relations from the university.

He went on to become the director of golf and manager of the Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego for thirty-eight years.

In October 2015, the Illinois Department of Transportation, by direction of Governor Bruce Rauner, designated a portion of Route 34 near the Fox Bend Golf Course as the “Leon McNair Highway” to celebrate Mr. McNair’s induction into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.

Mr. McNair served as president of the Wadsworth Golf Charities Foundation and the Illinois PGA.  Additionally, he was a member of the PGA Education Committee, National Oldsmobile Scramble Advisory Board, and PGA President’s Council on Growing the Game.

A giver of good through game of golf: A tribute to Leon McNair

I am incredibly grateful for the generosity of the Zari Foundation Scholarship and the Community Foundation in supporting my education. I am majoring in mechanical engineering with a concentration in aerospace engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institue of Technology. In my spare time, I volunteer on campus, in the community and I’m also the principal violist in the symphony orchestra. I hope to make an impact on the next chapter of space exploration by eventually working at a groundbreaking aerospace company such as SpaceX or NASA.

Taytum Newell

Albert M. Zari Scholarship Recipient

Give your gift of time and see what it means to the people you impact. Helping others is what life is all about.

Neal Ormond

Donor & Fund Advisor

YEP has made me realize the importance of being involved in my community, and how to make a difference. There are a lot of problems in the world but if we can do everything that we can to help the world will become a better place. YEP has helped me realize this and encouraged me to help more people in the future.

Madi Porter

YEP Member

Grant funds from the Community Foundation helped provide updated technology. These upgrades were transformative. By creating new time saving processes, it turned us into a more efficient organization.

Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry

Grantee

Education is important to us. We support causes that touch our lives and align with our values. We believe in paying it forward. We are here for a short time,, and it is the next generation that will take on what we leave behind.

Michelle Emanuel

Donor and Past Scholarship Recipient

Being a part of the Community Foundation scholarship committee is the highlight of my year. For many, a scholarship from the CFFRV is the reason they are able to continue reaching for their dreams and changing the future of our world. I hope each recipients knows just how inspirational they are to those of us who are lucky enough to read their stories.

Jessica Breugelmans

Scholarship Committee Member and Board Member

YEP was a great experience to have in high school. I became a more confident person, someone with a lot more perspective. Coming from a small school, YEP allowed me to branch out into my community, meet students from other schools, and learn about their backgrounds. I made some great friends and still keep in touch with them today.

Abby Vagnoni

YEP Alumni

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley

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