The Riverside-Brookfield High School Alumni Achievement Medal Committee has annually sought out alumni who have distinguished themselves in the years following their graduation. This year the committee has chosen Lisa Norman Hendrickson, Class of 1979, and the late Phil Kosin, Class of 1968.
Hendrickson graduated from Iowa State University in 1983 from their honors program with a double major in fashion design and merchandising. She is chief merchandising officer of Destination Maternity Corporation. While with Destination she has been vice president of design and vice president of “A Pea in the Pod,” a division of the corporation.
Supervising a staff of 85, she and her team travel worldwide, working on products. She has created, written and been awarded 10 patents which are exclusive to Destination Maternity Corporation, and she’s worked with celebrities such as Heidi Klum and Nicole Ritchie on special collections.
Her expertise led her to twice being a guest judge on the TV show “Runway Challenge.”
Additionally, she has given her time working with Philadelphia colleges, mentoring students in fashion curriculum and evaluating student projects at Iowa State University.
The late Phil Kosin graduated in 1968. Known as a sports broadcaster and sports journalist, Kosin began his career while still at RB where he covered sports for the City News Bureau and local papers. He eventually was a sports editor for a local paper and freelanced for national sports magazines.
His interest in the sport of golf had him covering over 500 tournaments, including the Western Open in 1975 for the Associated Press. He founded his own publication, Chicagoland Golf, in 1989. His radio show “Chicagoland Golf” started in 1994 on WMVP-AM and then to WSCR-AM.
In 1995 he founded the Illinois Women’s Open tournament. Recognizing the need for support of golf for younger players, Kosin started the nonprofit Chicago Friends of Golf, which gives financial assistance to needy junior golf programs.
Lisa Hendrickson will visit the school and visit with classes to speak on her experiences and televise an interview for RBTV.
Kosin and Hendrickson will be honored at a dinner held at the school on Thursday evening, Oct. 27, and will have their plaques added to the Alumni Achievement Medal wall at the high school.
To learn more about the dinner or the Alumni Achievement Medal, please contact Mary Ann Nardi in the superintendent’s office at 442-7500.
