Each year the Riverside Township Lions Club and the Riverside Chamber of Commerce form a joint committee seeking someone they would like to honor as the Riverside Township Person of the Year.
And, this year, the committee is proud to announce that Joseph M. Dvorak III will be added to the list.
“Basically it is an honor I never expected, and I was in awe,” said Dvorak when asked how it felt to be named Person of the Year.
A life-long resident of Riverside, Dvorak grew up on Longcommon Road, the only son of Liberty and Joseph Dvorak. He attended public school in Riverside and graduated from Riverside-Brookfield High School.
After earning a bachelor’s degree from Westminster College, he earned his law degree from Kent School of Law, following in the footsteps of his parents, who both were attorneys.
Dvorak has been an active member within the community, one of those people who is always willing to help. While his children were in school, he served on the District 96 school board for six years, two as the board’s president.
A member of the Riverside Chamber of Commerce, he is a former vice president and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors. At the Riverside Presbyterian Church, he has been a trustee and served on numerous committees, including the Ryan Womack Scholarship Fund. He also is a member of the Riverside-Brookfield High School Alumni Achievement Committee.
Professionally, he has been an attorney for 35 years, with his office in Riverside for the past 20 years. He’s a member of the Illinois Bar Association and the Bohemian Lawyers Association of Chicago, where he’s a past president and current member of the group’s board of managers. He’s also a former officer and director and current delegate of the Tabor Hills Healthcare Facility.
Joe Dvorak gladly gives of his time, whether it’s to lecture on legal topics or sit in the cold for the Chamber of Commerce during the annual Holiday Stroll. His next “job” will be riding in Riverside’s July 4 parade, and he will be honored on Sept. 20 at the Person of the Year Dinner at the Riverside Golf Club.
