Ascension Lutheran Church in Riverside has appointed Katie Ann McCarty as its new director of music ministries. McCarty began officially on March 1. On March 6 she accompanied her first Sunday worship services, after which the congregation sponsored a welcoming reception in her honor. Her duties will include accompanying Ascension’s worship services and directing the adult, children’s and handbell choirs.
McCarty is pursuing her doctoral degree in organ performance through Arizona State University. An avid performer, she enjoys playing many different styles of music. Recently she was invited to present her research at the College Music Society’s National Convention in San Francisco.
Other lecturing and teaching activities include a summer program in Guanajuato, Mexico, and research presentation at the International Organ Festival in Goteborg, Sweden. A Fulbright Scholar, McCarty spent a year in Bordeaux, France. She received her master’s degree from ASU in the spring of 2002.
Prior to that she studied with David Boe at Oberlin Conservatory and completed two undergraduate degrees there in organ performance and in English.
During her time of study at ASU, McCarty served as organist and handbell director at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Mesa.
“We have been deeply impressed with Katie Ann’s skill on both the organ and piano with a wide range of music,” said Rev. Roger Timm, pastor of Ascension Church. “We look forward to her inspiring musical leadership in our worship and her enthusiastic work with our choral ensembles.”
Ascension Lutheran Church is located at 400 Nuttall Road in Riverside.
Moving on up: The Board of Directors for the National Association of Metal Finishers (NAMF) elected Riverside resident David Jacobs as its new president during the 2005 NAMF Convention in February.
Jacobs is president of Northwestern Plating Works, Inc., a family-owned metal finishing facility located on the Southwest Side of Chicago that is now entering its ninth decade in business.
Continuing a tradition of volunteerism to the metal finishing industry fostered by his father, Jacobs has served as president of the Chicago Metal Finisher’s Institute (CMFI), a regional affiliate of NAMF. Other trade association responsibilities include his appointment as vice-chair of the Surface Finishing Industry Council’s (SFIC) Government Advisory Committee, chairman of Finishing Tech 2004 (a national conference and trade show), and chairman of the SFIC Membership Consolidation Committee.
? John E. Scully of Riverside has been promoted to group senior vice president of the LaSalle Bank Corporation’s Human Resources Department. In this capacity, he is responsible for human resources services for the LaSalle Bank and Standard Federal Bank commercial lending departments, ABN AMRO Chicago staff, as well as college recruiting for the corporation.
Scully, 62, joined The Exchange National Bank of Chicago in 1987 as first vice president and director of human resources. The Exchange was acquired by ABN AMRO in January 1990. Prior employers included The Northern Trust Company (1968-79) and First National Bank of Chicago (1980-87).
Scully, a Riverside village trustee, retired from the United States Army Reserve in 1996 as a major general, having served as commanding general of the 102nd Army Reserve Command in St. Louis and as commander of the 425th Transportation Brigade. He currently also serves as Army Reserve ambassador for Illinois and is a director on the University of Notre Dame alumni board.
Top doc: Riverside resident Judy Scully, Ed.D., was named the Ted Smith Practitioner of the Year by the Illinois School of Psychologists Association at the annual ISPA Conference in Springfield in March. Dr. Scully served as a school psychologist in Oak Lawn School District 122 for 17 years.
She was recognized for her effectiveness in providing crisis intervention in bringing together school personnel and parents to deal with the educational needs of the students of the elementary school district.
Although she retired from the district in 2004, Dr. Scully has continued to work with District 122 as a consultant to the assistant superintendent for specialized programs. In addition, she is a trustee of Dominican University in River Forest.
Proud to be All-American: U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-Western Springs) recently honored 13 seventh and eighth grade students who were winners of his All-American Boy and Girl Program, which recognizes scholarship, extracurricular activities and community involvement. Among the winners was Brookfield resident John Mossman, an eighth-grader at S.E. Gross Middle School and LaGrange Park resident Emily Szymczak, an eighth-grader at St. Louise de Marillac School.
Happy 60th! John and Dorothy Hultgren now residents of west suburban Geneva, recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. Back on Feb. 17, 1945, John and Dorothy were married at Riverside Presbyterian Church. They have two children, Holly Hultgren of Long Beach, Calif. and John Hultgren Jr. of St. Charles.
? Hauser Junior High students Audrey Wenzel and Alex Krug have been selected as winners of the Leonard Babb Scholarship. The winners will receive a monetary award to attend a summer music camp of their choice. The fund was established in 1991 in memory of Hauser Band Director Leonard Babb, and is supported by donations given at the annual District 96 music faculty recital in September.
Riverside resident Suzanne A. Shields and Chicago resident Simon R. Browne have announced that they will be married Sept. 24, 2005 at St. Mary Church in Riverside. The couple was engaged on July 10, 2004 .
Shields is the daughter of Thomas C. and Nicoline M. Shields of Riverside. She attended St. Ignatius College Prep and received a bachelor’s degree in voice performance at Illinois Wesleyan University before obtaining her master’s degree at University of Cincinnati. She has carved out a career as a singer, and often makes appearances for local churches and community organizations.
Browne, who hails from Monrovia, Liberia, is the son of Horatius C. Browne and Rosalba Baruffi-Browne. He also attended St. Ignatius and received a bachelor’s degree in computer science from DePaul University. He is employed as a lead analyst at Exelon in Chicago.
Simon attended St. Ignatius for his senior year (Suzanne’s sophomore year). There he made many friends, including Suzanne’s sister
Nicoline.
Although they probably met multiple times, it was not until a New Year’s Eve party that Nicoline threw in 1996 (Suzanne’s senior year) at their parents’ Riverside home that Suzanne and Simon really got to know one another. They began dating a few days later.
Browne proposed after dinner at Blackbird in Chicago during a stroll along Lake Michigan at the Museum Campus, near the Adler Planetarium.
