Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / ‘Epitome of a volunteer’: Marseilles man’s legacy built on service

Transcript

‘Epitome of a volunteer’: Marseilles man’s legacy built on service · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Epitomy of a volunteer Marseille man's legacy built on service,
• 0:10
  Written by Bill Frescoes. This article is being read by
• 0:14
  an automated voice brought to you by Everlett. When you
• 0:19
  pull into the parking lot of Marseilles City Hall and
• 0:21
  the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial, you'll see a tribute
• 0:24
  stone for the late Larry Sheehorn off to the right.
• 0:28
  Sheehorn is well known for his service to our country
• 0:31
  as a Vietnam veteran, but just as importantly, he was
• 0:34
  an inspiration to many because of his service, including Marseille
• 0:38
  native David Raikes. For more than forty years, Rakes has
• 0:42
  carried forward lessons he learned from Sheehorn by heading up
• 0:45
  volunteer efforts across the Illinois Valley through his work with
• 0:49
  Labour's Local three ninety three along with various community project groups.
• 0:55
  Rake traces his commitment to service back to his childhood
• 0:58
  in Marseilles, because he had role models who instilled the
• 1:01
  importance of putting community before self. Among those influences, she
• 1:06
  Horn stood out to Rakes in many ways. She Horn
• 1:10
  was Rake's little league baseball coach, but he was known
• 1:12
  throughout marse for helping others in subtle ways that didn't
• 1:17
  always get recognition. Whether that meant cutting someone's grass, giving
• 1:21
  rides to doctor appointments, or just checking in on neighbors.
• 1:25
  That's just the type of person he was. Rake said.
• 1:28
  He was always there for people and didn't ask for
• 1:31
  any attention, but we all paid attention and looked up
• 1:34
  to him for that. Those values stayed with Rakes as
• 1:37
  he entered the construction trades after turning eighteen, before eventually
• 1:42
  becoming heavily involved in union led volunteer efforts over the decades.
• 1:47
  Those efforts have included a variety of community projects. However,
• 1:52
  the project that stands out most to Rakes came more
• 1:55
  than twenty years ago with the construction of the Middle
• 1:58
  East Conflicts Wall Memorial in Marseilles, built by volunteers under
• 2:03
  a tight deadline. The project required months of long days,
• 2:07
  late nights, and coordination across multiple trades and organizations. If
• 2:12
  you had to contract it out, it would have been
• 2:13
  about a million dollar project, Rake said, but people came
• 2:17
  out of the woodwork to help out. They believed in it.
• 2:21
  For fellow volunteer Mark Paraso, who has known Rakus since
• 2:24
  the nineteen seventies through the union. The memorial remains a
• 2:28
  defining example of Raku's volunteerism and leadership. His concern for
• 2:32
  his fellow man is what stands out the most to me.
• 2:35
  He's just the epitome of what it is to really
• 2:38
  be a volunteer. Paraso said. He just really cares about people,
• 2:42
  and it shows with his passion for that wall. He
• 2:44
  genuinely wants those people to never be forgotten. In a
• 2:48
  small community like Marseilles, Pariso said that kind of leadership
• 2:52
  makes a lasting impact. He's selfless and that carries over
• 2:56
  to everyone around him. Pariso said he makes people want
• 2:59
  to be part of something bigger, as many did for him.
• 3:03
  Rake said one of his top priorities is trying to
• 3:06
  involve younger people in community projects and volunteer work. He
• 3:11
  believes the younger generation adopting a community first mentality starts
• 3:15
  with adults leading by example. It's a mindset he believes
• 3:18
  can only be taught just as it was once taught
• 3:20
  to him. If we don't invest in the kids, who's
• 3:24
  going to carry on these traditions, he said. Rake said
• 3:28
  the people in Marseilles are the reason he spends countless
• 3:30
  hours giving back a community of people he describes as
• 3:34
  willing to step up and often without much recognition. There
• 3:38
  are so many people here who just care about one another.
• 3:41
  Rake said, that's what makes a community strong, and it's
• 3:45
  gotten us through tough times together. For Rakes, that sense
• 3:49
  of community is guided by a simple philosophy he's lived
• 3:52
  by for decades. We make a living by what we get,
• 3:55
  but we make a life by what we give.