I married my childhood sweetheart, Deb, and we settled down in Naperville in 1984 and raised a family of six kids (2 boys, 4 girls). We now have 7 grandchildren as well.
I have a passion for long-distance endurance cycling on gravel roads. I love seeing new landscapes and sharing the experience with old and new friends.
Bob Bates is an outdoorsman who takes his cameras with him everywhere he goes. He grew up in Carol Stream, graduated from Eastern Illinois University and then married his wife, Lilly.
Kiel Smith is a firm believer that there is much to learn from nature. The science teacher at Metea Valley High School in Aurora is also a steward of the Forest Preserve District’s Big Woods Forest Preserve in Aurora, just down the street from the school.
Growing up in Minnesota, Marie Biemesderfer has always been drawn to water and nature. She remembers discovering how things came to life after in the spring after a long winter while working on a high school field biology project.
Judith Horsley believes in teaching by example. She and her husband, Michael, planted native gardens at their West Chicago home and their church, both of which are now certified monarch waystations.
