Naperville, IL - A Message from the President of the Board of the Cultural Center Regarding the Current State of the Cultural Center to City Council, Advisory Cultural Commission and Katie Wernberg, City Grant Coordinator :

I am compelled to write this statement due to the recent difficulties I have been going through in my own life and how that pertains to the Naperville Cultural Center. Because I am the founder of the cultural center, I felt it was my responsibility to close it when my family life became more demanding since I have become the caregiver to my elderly mother. For those who are not aware of my situation, my mother fell down a flight of wooden steps in December and suffered head injuries and broke a vertebra in the lumbar area of her spine. I must say she is now doing very well as she is healing a little bit every day and has the company of her family around her.

In the former years, I did not have very much help, worked long hours, and had few steady volunteers. I did not know how many people truly cared about the existence of the center. Since the announcement of the potential closing and of my mother's tragedy, enough volunteers and donors have come forward to stop the center from closing. This has inspired me to go forward. We have initiated new board members and have created a "working board", a cross between an executive committee in charge of duties and an active voting board that drives the direction of business. With the help also of steady and reliable lead volunteers, I am able to delegate a significant amount of the work that consumed my hours. I have also been able to log on remotely in order to conduct business from a home office. In this situation, I am able to stay on as executive director.

I am pleased to announce that the fund raising efforts are continuing as well. Lead volunteers have worked tirelessly to involve local businesses in charity nights that benefit the cultural center. They have also called upon the cultural center's very own registrants to move them to contribute as well. Now there are plans for at least two events that benefit the center as well, one hosted by Naperville Dental Specialists/Innovative Orthodontics and the other being Fashion Week Naperville 2009.

The Board of Directors, Lead Volunteers, Teachers, Friends of the Cultural Center and I believe that with all of these efforts combined, we will be able to continue working towards the goals of our mission which is to end discrimination, preserve cultural heritage and promote peace through the arts. We hope to not only continue bolstering our relationships with the local businesses and community, but with the help of City of Naperville Support also.

Attached is the announcement of the 2009-2011 board members as well as acknowledgement to those who have made a significant impact in the stability of the cultural center and their role.

Sincerely,
Michelle LeBlanc

2009-2011 Naperville Cultural Center Board of Directors:
1. Michelle LeBlanc, President
2. Matthew Freeman, Vice President
3. Michelle Linton, Treasurer, Compliance
4. Daniela Cigularova, Secretary & Marketing and PR Chair
5. Angela Jostlein, German School Chair
6. Irina Kosheleva, Russian School Chair
7. Lucia Feltner, Art Department Chair
8. Patti Encarnacion, Art Department Chair
9. Sharmila Fowler, Marketing & PR Co-Chair
10. Jeffrey Bockman, NCBA Liason, Movie Night Chair

Gratitude to the 2007-2009 board members:
1. Pete Ellman
2. Egle Raugalaite
3. Renee Montgomery
4. Daniel LeBlanc
5. Alan Walts

The Naperville Cultural Center Recognizes the Recovery Team, Individual Contributors and the Friends & Supporters of The Naperville Cultural Center petitioning to keep it open:

1. Felice Williams
2. Dianne Slotten
3. Drs. LaVacca & Ibrahim
4. Michelle Linton
5. Lucia Feltner
6. Daniela Cigularova
7. Steve Jacula
8. Matthew Freeman
9. Linda Baird
10. Anne Becker
11. Angela Jostlein
12. Jeffrey Bockman
13. Christina & John Cherry
14. Agnes DeRose
15. Cindy Lincoln
16. Denise McKenna
17. Daniela Cigularova
18. Konstantin Cigularov
19. Maria Burgarof
20. Hetel Patel
21. Lubomira Nikolova
22. Nina Emilova
23. Diane Scholz
24. Ann and William Ault
25. Sue Duffy
26. Nancy Davidson
27. Patti Lorenzo-Encarnacion
28. Lakhi M. Siap
29. Shana M. SIap
30. Elmo Siap
31. Padma Siap
32. Anton Gaston
33. Janel Jaeger
34. Robert Slayton
35. Kathy Gibson
36. Kristi Okoye
37. Pam Westfall
38. Karen Lloyd
39. Ross & Hilary Decent
40. Jeromy & Becca Cannon
41. Angela Jostlein
42. Geraldine Jender
43. Hardy Family
44. Ed & Rhonda Duffy
45. Pat Barrett
46. Alice Li-Arndt
47. Bill Hassett
48. Cindy Berry
49. Carla Bauch
50. Anil Bhala
51. Daniel Cott-Thorner
52. Hounsokou Family
53. Stephanie Hill
54. Joseph Fadullon
55. Bianca Durkin
56. Mary Brown
57. Mariel Marte
58. Kimberly Goffinet
59. Anne Becker
60. Peter Hrabiski
61. Bob Nealon
62. Andrea Eber-McNeill
63. Elizabeth Wulf
64. Jeanne Hoffman
65. Doug Helwig
66. Silke Hylla
67. Vicki Marks
68. Cornelia Smythe
69. Melinda Beck
70. Hans Jostlein
71. Giovanna Lavalle
72. John Schultz
73. Andrea Quintanor-Schafer
74. Jean Jostlein
75. Oliver Pelz
76. Michelle Nash
77. Boris Strepacki
78. James Maas
79. Howell Vischer
80. Poonam Privedi
81. Janet Hrabski
82. Regina Springer
83. Bianca Gavin
84. Lisa Heigl
85. Shanti Schramm
86. Markus Schramm
87. Svetlana Koleva
88. Christina Maas
89. Dan Eldridge
90. Rich Beinhauer
91. Sabine Gadbaw-Mueller
92. Christine Graves
93. David Parulo
94. Dan Cotto-Thorner

The Naperville Cultural Center Recognizes the 2008-2009 & 2009-2010 Teachers:

Angela Jostlein, German
Anna Becker, German
Regina Springer, German
John Schultz, German
Silke Hylla, German
Irina Kosheleva, Russian
Maria Polski, Russian
Anne C. Haeuser, French
Bianca Gavin, German
Diana Booth, Russian
Dina Romantchouk, Russian
Elena Lyutykh, Russian
Gunhild Roling, German
Iryna Chernyaska, Russian
James Rodgers, Spanish
Katharina Schiroky, German
Liliya Yarin, Russian
Melinda Creasy, Downtown Music Together
Michelle LeBlanc, Art
Miki Motoyama, Japanese
Olena Byelyankina, Russian
Priyanka Reddy, Indian Dance
Sandra Wellhoefer, German
Sara Feltner, Art
Tatjana Agejenkova, Russian
Vera Djackova, Russian
Veronika Nefedova, Russian
Xue Hui, Chinese
Kimberly Steele, Piano & Guitar
Yoshie Butler, Japanese
Yuliya Mangoutova, Russian
Yuri Bogdanov, Russian Theater
Alex Kolbasov, Russian & Chess
Michelle Soraya Pourtabib, Spanish
Sarah Starnes, Yoga
Stephanie Starnes, Yoga
The Naperville Cultural Center Recognizes the hundreds of regularly participating students in Foreign Language, Art & Music.

The Naperville Cultural Center Recognizes the City Partner & Granting Organization:
The City of Naperville

The Naperville Cultural Center Recognizes it's State Partner & Granting Organization:
The Illinois Humanities Council