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Woman's love of community earns annual chamber honor

Frances Reilly never paid much mind to the many hours of volunteer work she’s done for the Lodi community.
But her friends must have been taking notes.
In a surprise presentation over breakfast at Lyon’s restaurant on Friday, representatives from the Lodi Chamber of Commerce told Reilly and a group of her friends and family that she’s the recipient of the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award.
Reilly was unanimously chosen for the honor after a flood of nominations from her friends and colleagues highlighted her service to the community.
“You’re the kind of person we like to thank for being in Lodi,” chamber President and CEO Pat Patrick said, presenting Reilly with a bouquet of roses and a bottle of champagne to the applause of those at the restaurant.
“This is too much,” a bashful Reilly later said.
Since moving to Lodi in 1966, Reilly has steadily volunteered with Lodi Memorial Hospital, the Hanot Foundation Board and Care Home, Lodi Police Partners and St. Anne’s Parish, in addition to being a highly active member of the Royal Order of the Moose.
The thousands of hours of volunteer work is a labor of love, she said.
“I love people, I love our community and I like to pay back.”
Reilly, 74, took up volunteer work in 1970 after placing her developmentally disabled daughter, Julie, in the Hanot Foundation Board and Care Home. She and others worked with Sister Madeline Hanot to lay the groundwork for the board and care home south of Lockeford.
From there, Reilly became a member of the Alicante Auxiliary of Lodi Memorial Hospital.
<div class="pulloutLftWide"><h2>If you go</h2><strong>What:</strong> Lodi Chamber of Commerce 83rd annual Membership Meeting and Outstanding Citizens of the Year Celebration<br /><strong>Who:</strong> Frances Reilly will receive the Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award and David Diskin, of Applied Office, will receive the Volunteer of the Year Award. <br /><strong>When:</strong> 7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 26<br /><strong>Where:</strong> Hutchins Street Square Performing Arts Theater, 125 S. Hutchins St.<br /><strong>Cost:</strong> Presentation is free, however a reception with wine and hors d’oeurves will follow. Cost for the reception is $20.<br /><strong>Information:</strong> Call 367-7840, ext. 100.</div><p>She is also active in the Catechism class for the developmentally disabled at St. Anne’s Parish, and often drives participants with no means of transportation to the class.
For more than 20 years Reilly, who worked as a cosmetologist in South Dakota before moving to Lodi, has been active in the Royal Order of the Moose. In that time she has spent hundreds of hours volunteering to cook and serve Friday night dinners, and assist with Bingo and the annual Christmas party for the mentally disabled.
Reilly has also patrolled the streets of Lodi as a police Partner, the department’s volunteer group, for the past 11 years. She performs house checks for vacationing residents, tags abandoned cars for towing and directs traffic during car accidents, emergencies and special events.
The selection committee was comprised of Janice Roth, Don Phillips, Dr. Peter Hetzner, Gwen Mitchell Paden and Dave Vaccareza. Five other nominees contended for the 50-year-old award, but Reilly stood out to the committee members
“After reading through Frances Reilly’s credential, the committee unanimously felt that her longtime service to the community made her the best choice for outstanding citizen,” Patrick said.
<em>Contact reporter Jake Armstrong at jakea@lodinews.com.</em>

<em>This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. Jan. 9, 2006, to correct a reference to Frances Reilly's daughter, Julie.</em>