Congratulations to Rivermont Collegiate junior Pavane Gorrepati, who has received the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award!  This prestigious award is a project-based scholarship for Iowa high school juniors and is unique in the fact that grades, test scores, essays, and financial need are NOT evaluated.  Students are selected on the basis of submitted project proposals of their own choosing and design.  Pavane's outstanding proposal, Sending Seeds Overseas, has earned her a chance at a $5,000 scholarship.  Pavane will complete her project before October, when she will present it at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch, IA along with 14 other student finalists.  At that time, each finalist will receive $1,000 for participating in the program and a committee of accomplished Iowans will choose three students to win $5,000 college scholarships.

The award honors Iowa native and 31^st president Herbert Hoover - the name is taken from his "On the Uncommon Man" speech.  As part of the program, Pavane will spend a weekend in West Branch in June learning about President and Mrs. Herbert Hoover, including special tours of the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum and the Hoover National Historic Site.  This weekend offers finalists a framework to understand the inspiration for the award and to meet other student finalists.

In addition to being an Uncommon Student, Pavane was a Senior Champion at the 2010 Eastern Iowa Science & Engineering Fair (EISEF) for her project Warning about Warming: A Global Problem with a Fuel Cell Solution and presented fuel cell projects at the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF) in both 2009 and 2010.  She is a recipient of a Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, which will take her to the China National Hybrid Rice Research & Development Center this summer to conduct research.  In addition, Pavane will travel to the National History Day Competition in Washington, D.C. in June as part of a group performance with fellow Rivermont juniors Joann Weeks, Meghana Pagadala, and Christine Mbakwe.

Though Pavane is the recipient of many honors, the Uncommon Student is unique in that it encourages young Iowans to invest their talents in their schools, communities, and beyond - to display the skills and talents that Herbert Hoover demonstrated to spot a problem, devise a solution, and make changes when needed.  In the words of a parent of an Uncommon Student, "The Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student project pushed my daughter out of her comfort zone and challenged her to pursue a project she could get excited about.  The Hoover project required her to test her passion and commitment, and to share it with strangers."  In the words of a past Uncommon Student, "This scholarship does not grade you on your grades, test scores, or essays - just the ability to put your mind to completing something.  Explore your interests or seek what needs change.  The project can be anything you are interested in.  Think big!"

Rivermont Collegiate, located in Bettendorf, is the Quad Cities' only private, independent college-prep school for students in preschool through twelfth grade.  For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray, Director of Admissions, at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or murray@rvmt.org.  Visit us online at www.rvmt.org!

For additional information on the Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award, visit www.hooverassociation.org

-END-

Local student graduates from Beloit College:

William A. Hawkinson, Davenport, son/Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Hawkinson, Bachelor of Arts, Economics.

Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, graduated a record 875 students during commencement exercises on May 13 and 14 including:

Rachel K Karsten of Moline with a BA in Instrument Music K-12 Ed.

Hammond-Henry Hospital to hold open house for Long-Term Care Facility

Geneseo, IL - A milestone event will take place this week for Hammond-Henry Hospital in Geneseo, IL. On June 5, 2011 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. an open house will be held to commemorate the end of construction on the 18,900 s.f. long-term care facility located at 600 N. College Avenue in Geneseo, IL. Press is invited to attend.

The 38-bed Long Term Care facility features 18 singles rooms and 10 double rooms, grooming salon, family gathering area, library, therapy room, whirlpool tub and resident storage area. The dining room and living area features a state-of-the-art video and audio system. This area also includes one bariatric and one special care resident room. The facility will be Medicare-certified for skilled care
services.

The Long-Term Care facility is the first completed phase of the larger 73,000 s.f. Designed to be Patient Kind addition/renovation project that is currently taking place at Hammond-Henry Hospital. The remainder of the Patient Kind project phases, which includes demolition and renovation of the existing hospital, will be completed by October 2012.

"Long term care is a service that our board studied and considered for a long time. It's a beautiful facility that's really overdue for our residents and patients. This project has been two years in the making. It is our goal to tie the facility together into a modern, user-friendly building which will meet the needs of our patients, visitors, and staff well into the future," stated Brad Solberg, CEO of
Hammond-Henry Hospital.

Hammond-Henry Hospital was established in 1901, utilizing approximately 82 acute and long-term beds and serves nearly 20,000 residents in the Geneseo, IL area. For more information on Hammond-Henry Hospital, please visit their website at www.hammondhenry.com.

Russell Construction, located in Davenport, IA, is serving as the Design/Builder and General Contractor on this new addition project. Shive-Hattery, located in Moline, IL will serve as the Architect. The Patient Kind Addition is the third project that Russell Construction has completed for Hammond-Henry Hospital since 2004. Previously, Russell constructed a 34,000 s.f. addition and renovation to their existing hospital in Geneseo, IL and a 3,500 s.f. medical office building in Colona, IL. For more information on Russell Construction, please visit their website at www.russellco.com.

###

Months ago, the Governor called for a major overhaul of Illinois' broken workers compensation system. Reforms to this overwhelming burden on our businesses were crucial to maintain Illinois' economic competitiveness, which is why he made it one of his top legislative priorities this session. The Governor brought everyone to the table with a proposal to save our business over $500 million, while protecting injured workers. And today, after months of work, we have seen these reforms come to fruition.

The legislation approved by the General Assembly today will also achieve significant saving for the State of Illinois, as well as attacking fraud and abuse. We have fundamentally changed our system, allowing Illinois to become more competitive and a better place to do business.

We want to thank the members of the General Assembly - especially sponsors Rep. Bradley and Sen. Raoul - for their commitment to Illinois' businesses and workers. They have passed a package of true reforms that will have a profound effect on our state.  We also express our appreciation to Director McRaith for his tireless work on this reform.  This is a proud day for the State of Illinois, and, especially, for Illinois' business community and workers. The Governor looks forward to signing it into law.