About OnLaGrange.com
Welcome to OnLaGrange.com, your community’s online gathering spot.
OnLaGrange.com was created by local residents for local residents. We welcome your input and encourage your participation.
We are pleased that you have chosen to view this site. We will constantly update our content, so check back frequently. We hope that this site, in time, will become the one stop source for information and events occurring in the LaGrange area.
This is the first of what we know will be many evolutions of the site. Our staff is committed to quality community journalism and will always strive to improve the site's content and function for its viewers, participants, and supporters.
We welcome your opinion about the functions of this site. Tell us what you like about the site, what you dislike, what you want more of, and what you can do without.
The staff of OnLaGrange.com hopes that the forums associated with the site will be used for the entertainment and education of local residents. We also hope that the residents of the LaGrange area feel that the forums provide a safe environment where their opinions can be expressed. We will do everything we can to ensure the site remains secure for community discussion.
The staff of OnLaGrange.com is excited to present you this site. We hope that you have as much fun viewing our content as we have in producing it for you. ENJOY!
About the publisher
OnLaGrange.com was founded by Scott Hardesty. Scott has been active in the La Grange area for seventeen years as both a photojournalist and freelance photographer. For the past seven years he served as the photo editor for a group of local newspapers, one of which served LaGrange. Scott prided himself on creating an atmosphere for excellence in community journalism. As a photo editor, he was able to recruit photographers that he knew would excel under his leadership and principles. In 2007, Scott and his hand-picked photo staff were recognized with a record number of visual awards, the most in the publications 113 year history.
Scott will continue his commitment to strong community journalism through the content of this site in what he hopes will be a rewarding experience for the residents of LaGrange and surrounding areas.
About our News EditorJames Pluta is an award-winning 26-year veteran of the journalism trade, having worked for numerous community and daily newspaper chains, magazines, wire services and both radio and cable television. He's even done a little public relations work on the side. He started his career at a weekly newspaper in the southwest suburbs, where he now serves as associate editor covering 11 communities south of La Grange.
Jim is a former news editor and political columnist with The Suburban LIFE, where he also later covered La Grange as a senior reporter during the period in which The Triangle Redevelopment Project was being proposed and built. He has served as a longtime judge for the La Grange Pet Parade and has done volunteer work for the La Grange-based Community Extension Project (CEP).
About our Education Editor
Julie McLaughlin has lived in the La Grange Park community for 24 years and has enjoyed a variety of writing positions, focusing on local education writing for the past 10 years. She is excited to be a member of the start up crew for OnLagrange.com and looks forward to “schooling” the community via this futuristic publication.
About our Designer
Genie Prokaski has lived in the La Grange area for over 20 years. She graduated from the American Academy of Art with a degree in Graphic Design. After working full time in a corporate setting Genie continued as a freelance designer while raising her four children. She also worked in the production department of the Suburban Life Newspaper for five years. Genie and her husband Ray enjoy being a part of such a wonderful community and look forward watching OnLagrange.com grow.
Karen Hanrahan/Best of Mother Earth
Karen loves to cook, share and comment on all things related to wellness. At her Blog: Best of Mother Earth ( www.bestwellnessconsultant.com ) she writes about food and about products that supports a wellness lifestyle. She also ponders life stories, dog antics and moments of greenness. She’s a single mom with two young adult children, a cat, and a siberian husky. She adores all things vintage, chocolate, and owns an eighty four year old bungalow. Until a recent move to central Illinois she was a long time resident of La Grange.
Patricia Martin/CultureScout
LaGrange Park resident Patricia Martin is CEO and founder of LitLamp Communications, a marketing and communications boutique acclaimed for using culture as a medium to connect brands with communities of consumers. Martin tunes in to social tremors before they become trends to help clients win hearts and change minds. She conjured a strategy for the Asian tour of the New York Philharmonic, spearheaded a viral Information Privacy initiative funded by George Soros, launched Animal Planet, introduced Dannon products into school lunch rooms nationwide, and re-focused Sun Microsystems’ higher education strategy.
Jenny Kales/Nut-Free Mom
La Grange Park resident Jenny Kales, a freelance writer and mother of two, is the author of The Nut-Free Mom Blog, a resource for parents of kids with life-threatening food allergies. Inspired by her oldest daughter who has a severe allergy to tree nuts and peanuts, The Nut-Free Mom Blog has received mention in the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Parent Magazine and on the NPR news show, Marketplace. Jenny lives in lovely LaGrange Park with her husband and daughters. Learn more about raising a nut-free kid in a nutty world by visiting her site: www.nut-freemom.blogspot.com.
Matt Gabrys/Dining Guide
Matt is currently a senior studying Psychology at Northwestern University. He attended Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, worked at Horton's while in high school, and spent many Friday nights drinking coffee outside Starbucks. Matt lived in La Grange for 5 years, before recently moving to Burr Ridge. He still finds his way back to downtown La Grange daily, though, to review restaurants for his blog or to work on his website RealCollegeTour.com and other business endeavors from his laptop at Caribou Coffee.