Project Acclaim Honors Will County for Assistance with Vaccination Clinic Held at Joliet West High School

From left to right: Will County Board Member Rachel Ventura, County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Health Department Executive Director Sue Olenek, Project Acclaim President Jayne Bernhard, and Project Acclaim Secretary Kristine Schlissman. Project Acclaim presented the award at the January meeting of the Will County Board. (Photo courtesy of the Will County Executive Office).

Project Acclaim, a Joliet-based civic pride organization, has inducted the Will County Executive’s Office and the Health Department, along with Joliet Fire Department, Amita St. Joseph Medical Center, and Joliet Township High School into its 2021 Hall of Pride for the coordinated effort to establish the Joliet West High School Vaccination Clinic. Representatives from Project Acclaim presented the award to County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Health Department Executive Director Sue Olenek at the January meeting of the Will County Board.

“I am honored to accept this award on behalf of the county board and the hundreds of county employees and volunteers who worked together to ensure the vaccine was efficiently distributed,” said Bertino-Tarrant. “This was an all-hands-on-deck effort. I am proud of the hard work from our partners. We each utilized our resources to provide the best service to our residents.”

The Joliet West High School Vaccine Clinic opened at the early stage of the county’s coordinated vaccine distribution efforts, and was initially aimed towards educators, first responders, and members of the most vulnerable populations. Due to the efforts of numerous volunteer nurses and firefighters, over 60,000 vaccines were administered.

“Chief Blaskey and Deputy Chief Carey, Amita St. Joseph’s Dr. Jon Strotkamp, Joliet Township High School’s Dr. Karla Guseman, and Director Olenek from our health department did an excellent job working together to offer a high volume of the vaccines in a relatively short period of time,” said Bertino-Tarrant.

The Hall of Pride Induction is organized annually by Project Acclaim to recognize positive community efforts. Since its inception in 1987, the Hall of Pride has inducted approximately 140 individuals and organizations whose long-term efforts have been dedicated to making the greater Joliet area a better place to live and raise our families.

More information on the award can be found at www.projectacclaim.org.