Association of Horizon, Inc.Annual Report

Fiscal Year 2008-2009

Table of ContentsTreasury Report! 1Night at the Races! 5Bowl for Horizon! 7Golf Outing & Luau! 9Other Fundraising! 11

Annual Raffle! 11GoodSearch/GoodShop! 11T-shirts/Sponsors! 12Direct Sales Party! 12Matching Gifts! 12Grants! 12General Donations! 12

Monthly Events ! 13Beach Party – August! 13Holiday Shop with a Friend - November! 13Holiday Party - December! 13Recruitment Kickoff Party - January! 13Chicago Wolves Outing – February/March! 14

Camp Committee! 15Recruitment! 16

Recruitment Committee! 16Nominating Committee! 18

Horizon Hope! 192008-2009 Goals ! 20Long Term Goals! 22

Treasury Report

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Night at the RacesDate: October 10, 2009

Location: Balmoral Park, Crete, IL

Chair Persons: Kathy Colunto & Geri Skudney Current Committee Members: Kathy Colunto, Geri Skudney, Brenda Bokowski, Jan Basile, Jen Hanenburg, George Czerwoinka, Erin Kowalski, Donnie Flynn, Eric Brandt, Sim Bustos Overview: The Night at the Races (NATR) has been one of the Association of Horizonʼs largest and most successful fundraisers. Attendance for this event has been as high as 350 guests, while raising nearly $25,000 in one evening. The event is held in the Balmoral Club Dining Room overlooking the harness races. Guests enjoy a two hour buffet dinner and a limited open bar. Throughout the evening there are many ways we are raising money while giving our guests the chance at winning great prizes. We change up these methods from time to time. We have had bucket raffles, silent auctions, cash raffles, poppers prizes, split-the-pot and more.We start planning this event in January by securing a date and setting a theme for the evening. We then try to meet once a month to work out the other details such as soliciting for donations, the invitations, decorations and the logistics for the event.Even though we have a set committee for the planning of this event, we always need an additional amount of volunteers the evening of the event to keep it all running smoothly.

2008 Review: We had approximately 12 volunteers helping the day of the event - while the core committee worked over the span of the year pulling the event together.We raised a little over $10,000 at with approximately 250 people in attendance. This amount was about $10,000 less than our previous year since our attendance was considerably lower. With the lower numbers we were becoming concerned that NATR may have “run its course” as other former Horizon events had. However, at the end of the evening, our guests we all commenting on a wonderful evening had and were looking forward to the next one. With that being said we decided to give it another year to see if it remains successful.

2009 Goals:We are hoping to turn a profit of $15,000 - $20,000 with 350 – 400 in attendance.

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Bowl for HorizonDate: April 2010

Location: Deerbrook Lanes in Deerfield, IL

Chair Person: Jennifer BernoverCurrent Committee Members: Alan Bernover, Susan Bernover, Lisa Settler, Matt Settler

OverviewThis bowling event provides participants with three games of bowling, shoe rental, catered dinner, and non-alcoholic beverages. Each of the games are different; game one is standard bowling, game two is scotch doubles, and game three is a “Crazy Bowl” format. One of many different prizes are awarded within and after each of the three games.In addition to bowling, Bowl for Horizon affords attendees the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to be placed in buckets. At the end of the night, one ticket is drawn from each of the buckets in order to determine a winner of that particular prize. The event also features several separate 50/50 raffles sold multiple times throughout the evening.

2009 ReviewBowl for Horizon was organized by the same committee that coordinated the Spring for Horizon the last two years. This first-annual event was a huge success! The Association of Horizon, Inc. raised almost three times the amount of money than the prior dinner-dance event had in 2008. The committee also managed to acquire over 45 raffle prizes. The committee members really seemed to enjoy themselves as did the event attendees.Those attending the event were charged $40/person or $75 per couple. Raffle tickets were $1.00 each or $5.00 for six tickets. The 50/50 raffle was $1.00 per entry. Bowl for Horizon was attended by 84 people and raised over $700.00 in cash donations. The committee and attendees alike were very elated with the changes made from 2008 to 2009. While this change in format lowered operating costs, the Association reaped the reward in realizing greater profits.

2010 Goals The Bowl for Horizon Committee was very happy with the eventʼs success in its inaugural year. Next year, they expect to increase attendance to help bring even more profit. The committee has already begun to reevaluate the cost of both the bucket raffle tickets and the 50/50 raffle tickets. Some “sales” were run at the event last year that they feel might have hurt the profit margin for the event.New-coming committee members have already voiced an interest, which will only enhance and further the eventʼs potential for success.

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Golf Outing & LuauDate: June 2010

Location: The Links at Carillon in Plainfield, IL

Chair Person: currently vacant Current Committee Members: Jessica Janes-Crowley, Michael Meyer, Lori Moore, John Walsh, Ellen Westley, Barb Youngberg, Rachel YoungbergJen Katsenios also works as a liaison for our committee on various documents, invitations, etc. and Michael Trimpe assists the co. with Horizon business matters

Overview: The event consists of a golf portion in the afternoon and a luau at night. The golf planning is minimal and we decide on games and prizes. We also attempt to get each golfer a goodie bag of various items. The luau takes a considerable amount of time to plan from selecting the menu to booking the live entertainment. We must solicit lots of donations to be used for our silent auction, bucket raffle and ball busters. We also do a cash raffle and this year did a split the pot. We decorate the venue and arrange all the prizes. We need a considerable amount of volunteers the day of the event.

2009 Review: Our committee was able to raise over $14,000 at our event. We had 64 golfers in attendance and over 150 luau attendees. Our attendance was significantly lower than 2008 where we had 95 golfers and 200 luau guests.Our golf play was much faster due to less complicated games and no obstacles with course play. We had lots of volunteers come out and work registration or work on a hole. We also had volunteers setting up the luau while players golfed. Our decorations were great since we used the same theme as last year and were able to reuse almost all of the decorations. We had little to no problems during the luau. Our silent auction, bucket raffles and ball busters did great. Our original band cancelled on us but we found a replacement band, the Underdogs, and many people liked them even better than our usual band. Everyone had a good time.

2010 Goals:We anticipate a profit near $16,000. We hope to have 100 golfers and 250 luau guests.

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Other FundraisingThese are other ways of earning money for Horizon that we have done throughout the year.

Anyone participating in these programs/fund raisers can do so with little or no effort and often from the privacy of their own home either on the computer or on the phone.

There are no Committee Chairs or Committee Members for these programs as they are open to any participants at any time. If you are interested in helping with any of the following or would like more information please contact:

Geri Skudney at Geri.Skudney@associationofhorizon.org or

Michael Trimpe at Michael.Trimpe@associationofhorizon.org

Annual Raffle This is our annual raffle we do that runs for a year. We start the drawings at the beginning of our Fiscal Year, August 1st and it ends on July 31st of the following year. We sell 1,000 tickets for $10 each that are numbered 000-999. There are 68 chances to win, 52 $50 weekly drawings, 12 $100 monthly drawings and 4 $250 quarterly drawings. Horizon can make a profit of $5,000 if all tickets are sold. We are in the process of our second raffle and as of right now the estimated projected profit is approximately $2,000. We have about 250 unsold tickets. I have 80 tickets still in my possession and there are another 170 that I have not received the money for, therefore considered to be unsold at this time. There is still time to sell the rest of the tickets, please contact me if you would like to help out in this effort.

GoodSearch/GoodShopA simple way to help generate income for Horizon is to do your internet surfing and shopping through GoodSearch and GoodShop.GoodSearch is a search engine powered by Yahoo! that donates fifty percent of their advertising revenue to the charity, school or nonprofit organization of your choosing. All you have to do is go to GoodSearch.com and enter Association of Horizon as your designated charity and search the web. They estimate that each Web search will generate approximately $0.01 for your charity. GoodShop has a list of links of stores that donate a percentage of your purchase to a charity of your choice. This amount varies from each store. All you have to do is click GoodShop from the GoodSearch page (after you designated the Association of Horizon as your charity) then select from the hundreds of on-line stores to shop through. We received our first check from GoodSearch/GoodShop in December, which was for their FY 07/08, in the amount of $102.82. Based on searches and sales under Horizonʼs name so far, our next check should be around $150 or more.

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T-shirts/SponsorsWe are always looking for businesses to join us as a sponsor. A business can either sponsor one of our fundraisers or it can be camp T-shirt sponsor. A fundraiser sponsor usually will have its name in the fundraiserʼs program and also a mention in our quarterly newsletter. The T-shirt sponsors will have their name and logo printed on the back of our camp shirts for that year. If you know someone who has a business or has contacts at a business, you can help us by asking them to sponsor us.

Direct Sales PartyYou can help raise money for Horizon by hosting a direct sales party such as Tastefully Simple, Lia Sophia, Tupperware, etc. Almost every direct sales company has a fundraising program, if not, you can always host a party and donate your host rewards to Horizon. You donʼt even necessarily have to have a home party; there are catalog and on-line parties too. Many consultants will give you your host rewards in cash or you can donate the products you earn to one of our major fundraisers to use as a raffle prize. This option has the potential to raise even more money!

Matching GiftsMatching gifts is the easiest way to double the money you give to Horizon. Check with your company to see if they have a matching gift program. Itʼs as easy as submitting a form when you make a donation to us.

GrantsApplying for Grants can be lucrative for Horizon. Some Grant applications can be a simple form whereas others are quite involved and require a lot of time and writing. If you are a good writer or if you know of any Grants that are available, we could use your help.

General Donations

The easiest way to contribute to Horizon is to simply make a tax-deductible donation. Approximately 15-20% of our revenue is from general donations. Help us out by spreading the word about Horizon to your friends and family. Let them know we are a registered 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization. If you have a United Way payroll deduction from your paycheck, you can assign Horizon as the recipient of your funds. You can also encourage your co-workers to join you.

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Monthly EventsThe Association of Horizon holds monthly events throughout the year to try and keep with our mission and vision. In addition, the events are a great way to keep in touch with each other. At this time we have five events that are not fund-raisers.

Beach Party – AugustThis event is usually held in August, a couple of weeks after camp. We all meet at one of the Chicago area beaches to enjoy the day with new and old friends from camp.

Holiday Shop with a Friend - NovemberEveryone meets at Gurnee Mills to shop. After shopping, there is gift-wrapping party located at a hotel in the Gurnee area. This year the event is Saturday, November 14th. Please call the Hampton Inn (847-662-1100) to reserve your room for either Friday or Saturday night by October 24th to get the Horizon room rate. If you cannot stay over night, you can still come and join us for the day! Please call Brenda at (773) 715-9631 or email her at brenda.bokowski@associationofhorizon.org for more information.

Holiday Party - December!The annual Holiday Party is located in Elk Grove Village. This is an event to spend time with new and old friends of Horizon. A lunch buffet is usually served. There are presents for the kids from a surprise visitor.This year the event is Saturday, December 12th from 11:30am – 3:30pm at Avalon Banquets, 1905 E. Higgins Rd, Elk Grove Village. RSVPs are being accepted now, so please let us know if you will be attending before December 1st. Email Marcy at marcy.davis@associationofhorizon.org with the number of participants and include the number of children under 11 (and their ages) or if you need more information.

Recruitment Kickoff Party - January!The annual recruitment kickoff party is located at Hackneyʼs in Glenview. This event signifies the official start of the camp recruitment process. It is also the first time you can fill out your camp application.The recruitment kickoff party is going to be on January 9th this year. Please come and join us, if you need more information email Brenda at brenda.bokowski@associationofhorizon.org.

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Chicago Wolves Outing – February/March!The annual Chicago Wolves Outing is usually in February or March. This is where we all get together to watch a Chicago Wolves game at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont. The date has yet to be set for this year. For more information contact Mike at michael.trimpe@associationofhorizon.org.

We would be open to adding additional monthly events. Please call George at (847) 414-9471 or email him at george.czerwionka@associationofhorizon.org with any ideas that you may have.

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Camp CommitteeDate: July 2010

Location: Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson, IL

Chair Person: Tom Daly

Current Committee Members: Anna Lopez, Mike Trimpe, Chris Gieck, Michael Meyer, Lea Svihla, Jen Hanenburg, Brandon Petrenko, Mark Gray, George Czerwionka, Matt Passen, Chris Viau, Margaret Sutton, John Meneghini, Theresa Sanchez, Mike Jaffee, Gregg Menn

Overview:This is a large committee but we are always looking for new members. We always welcome new and fresh ideas form new and old members of the committee. The Camp Committee is responsible for the following tasks year round:

• Follow our Mission and Vision• Act in the best interest of our general population• Plan all of camp from activities to budget & T-shirts• Select members of the camp support team• Solicit donations & T-shirt sponsors• Work closely with the Recruitment committee to ensure that all needs for camp

are met. Including and special dietary needs, ordering medical supplies such as hospital beds , hoyer lifts and vents. As camp gets closer the tow committees work very closely

• Negotiate our contract with Easter Seals UCP Timber Pointe Outdoor Center. Once a contract has been finalized we work with TPOC to make sure all stipulations of the contract are met and coordinate all logistical issues leading up to camp

• Work together all year to ensure we continue to have summer camp each year• We meet monthly year-round in person and/or via conference call• Sit on a subcommittee to help plan one aspect of camp, sub committees include:

activities, menu, donations, t-shirts…etc.• Come up with new ideas to keep camp fun

2009 Review:The 2009 Summer Camp was very successful. This was the largest camp ever held by the Association of Horizon, Inc. With a revamped Support Team and new procedural safeguards in place, Camp ran very smoothly. The Committee has not met to fully discuss all details of this past Camp, however, preliminary looks at camp evaluations show very positive feedback from all participants.

2010 Goals:The Camp Committee has not yet met to discuss goals for the following year.

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RecruitmentRecruitment Committee

Date: July 2010

Location: Timber Pointe Outdoor Center in Hudson, IL

2008-2009 Chair Persons: Brenda Bokowski & Jen Hanenburg

2009-2010 Chair Persons: Anna Lopez & Jen Hanenburg

Current Committee Members: Geri Skudney, Anna Lopez, Jen Bernover, Sheila Caplis, Chris Gieck, George Czerwionka, Terry Smith, Kathy Colunto, Brandon Petrenko, Andy Rader, Meaghan Anderson, Lidia Kanthak, Patrick Brice, Dan Persak, Emily Dosmar, Brenda Bokowski

Overview:The Recruitment Committee is responsible for recruiting all volunteers and campers for the Annual Summer Camp. The committee hosts a kickoff party in January at Hackneyʼs. Members of the committee also travel around the Chicagoland area giving presentations about camp, interviewing potential candidates, and providing orientation sessions for new volunteers. The Recruitment Committee is responsible for assigning all participants to cabins as well as overseeing the Nominating Committee (see following page for explanations).

2009 Review:THe Hackneyʼs Recruitment Kick Off was January 10, 2009. The turnout was a bit lower than in years past, presumably due to the inclement weather we experienced that day. Applications were made available to all returning campers. From January 10 until March 10 registration was closed to all new campers. This was done in response to the MDA budget cuts. It was feared that an influx of displaced campers would cause returning campers to loose their space. Expansion at Timer Point Outdoor Center ultimately created enough spaces such that we did not turn anyone away. However, all returning campers had their applications in on time and the new campers seemed more than willing to wait for a spot. The committee gave two presentations at Lincoln Park High School and then interviewed interested volunteers afterwards. The committee also met the goal for 2009 of securing 2 new contacts for recruitment purposes. We now have a contact at Brother Rice and at Immanuel United Church of Christ. These contacts should ensure that Horizon has a few options when recruiting volunteers for 2010."We had two Volunteer Orientations this year, one on the north side and one on the south side of Chicago. Turnouts were good at both, but more may need to be done to express the importance of these orientations.This was a challenging year due to all of the changes we had to make because we werenʼt sure if the three new cabins would be ready. We did camper/attendant cabin

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placement 3 different times due to changes. We used 14 Cabins in total. There were 75 Campers (15 new), 125 Attendants, and 2 Nurses, making a grand total of about 200 participants throughout the week.

2010 Goals:The Recruitment Committee has not yet met to discuss goals for the following year.

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Nominating Committee

Current Committee Members: Jen Bernover, Patrick Brice, Anna Lopez

Overview:The Nominating Committee is responsible for choosing all of the Team Leaders and Cabin Advisors for camp. The committee reads past evaluations and examines the credentials of all potential candidates to determine who should be chosen for these roles at camp. Team Leaders must have 3 years of experience at camp and be recommended by a previous Team Leader. Cabin Advisors must have previously been in one of the following roles: member of the Board of Directors, member of the Camp Committee, or a past Team Leader. Team Leaders are allowed to request a Cabin Advisor that they feel is a good working match for them personally. The Committee also assists the Recruitment Committee during cabin placement to ensure that each cabin is given the appropriate amount of support from both Team Leaders and Cabin Advisors.

2009 Review:With this past camp this biggest ever, the Nominating Committee assembled a team of 19 Team Leaders spread out over 14 cabins. Eight of these Team Leaders were new to the role and seven were active members of the Recruitment Committee. A pre-camp orientation was held on May 17th to train of the Team Leaders.New in 2009, a Team Leader Draft was also held on the May 17th meeting. At the Draft, Team Leaders were given the opportunity to choose which campers they wanted in their cabins. Also new in 2009 was the role of Cabin Advisor. This role was used previously at camp, but had gone by the wayside in more recent years. The Nominating Committee successfully worked to bring the role back to camp for 2009.

2010 Goals:The Nominating Committee has not yet met to officially set goals for 2010. However, a survey was sent to all of the Team Leaders asking them their thoughts on specific parts of their role. There was an overwhelmingly positive response to both the Cabin Advisors and the Team Leader Draft. The committee suspects that these two items will be kept for the foreseeable future.

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Horizon HopeDate: Applications due January 2010" Grant Awarded June 2010

Current Committee Members: Tom Daly and Rachel Youngberg

Overview:The Horizon Hope grant/scholarship program was established to give back to our members. One individual affiliated with Horizon will be rewarded $1,000 based on their application. The 2010 Horizon Hope application is available online.One individual with some affiliation to the organization, The Association of Horizon, Inc., will be chosen to receive a $1000.00 grant based on qualifications in one of three areas:

1. Prospective student studying in a field of work relating to helping individuals with physical disabilities (i.e. occupational therapy, physical therapy, recreational therapy, special education, nursing, etc.). Students can be full-time or taking courses to continue their education in the related field. Please provide accredited universityʼs transcripts or letter of acceptance from an accredited university. (must be already accepted at a an accredited university)

2. Individual or individuals researching information about a particular physical disability or multiple disabilities (i.e. discovering innovative ideas about new technology for individuals with muscular dystrophy, researching new medications to improve the quality of life for any individual affected by a physical disability, etc. ). Please include copies of your studies and research in your area of focus.

3. The Association of Horizon, Inc. will sponsor an individual with a physical disability (i.e. paying for medical equipment, assistive technology, construction to home for adapted living, etc.). Please include information about the equipment or device that you need and an explanation of how it will benefit you or the individual you sponsor.

As long as one the above criteria are met the board of directors will review the applications and vote on the one that seems to meet the requirements the best.

2009 Review:Lea Svihla was the recipient of the 2009 Horizon Hope Grant. She was awarded the grant so that she could purchase computer equipment to assist her as a member of the Board of Directors as well as a member of two different committees.

2010 Goals:The Committee hopes to continue to spread the word about the Horizon Hope Grant in order to ensure that numerous applications are filed each year.

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2008-2009 GoalsDate: Annually at the start of the Fiscal Year

Committee Members: Various Board Members volunteer to assist on these projects

Overview:The Board of Directors sets annual goals each year beginning on or around the Annual Meeting. These goals are reviewed continually throughout the Fiscal Year. Various Board Members volunteer to work on these projects and then discuss the progress at Board Meetings.

2009 Review:1. Create Public Relations kits. Kits would include Power Point presentations. An

annual report would also be included with financial information. Our goal is to create a comprehensive document that illustrates Horizonʼs history, vision, mission, goals, financials, and committee and event information. Include Horizon calendar/timeline of events. Tool to use for any committee. Need consistency throughout all documentation.

Jen Bernover and Anna Lopez have worked on this goal over the past two years. New photo boards have been printed and the PowerPoint presentation have been updated and the Associationʼs documents have been streamlined and coordinated so that a consistent, professional message is put forth to the public. Various video projects have also been started to help with the Associationʼs public relations and advertising. Movies have been placed on YouTube to help with this process. The first ever published version of our annual report has been completed as well. (See goal #6 for more information)

2. Raise $50,000 (from October 2008 – September 2009) Geri Skudney supervised this endeavor. The Association was very fortunate to find two very generous donors this year that rocketed them well past this goal.

3. Fundraising Initiative – Create documents that would assist new comers in starting up small fundraiser with the tools needed to start the effort. People who want to do a fundraiser would get a packet of information including forms needed and the Horizon calendar/timeline. It could possibly be a cabin competition to see who can raise the most money with one board member sponsoring each cabin. We would like this to be ready in January 2009.

Geri Skudney & Brenda Bokowski have attempted to find some small fundraising initiatives to assist in fundraising for the organization. No formal kits or packets have been created at this time.

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4. Sign up for the Disability Pride parade and any other disability related outings.Mike Trimpe attempted to coordinate a group of people for the Disability Pride Parade. However, the date conflicted with our Annual Summer Camp. No other disability related outings were coordinated.

5. Coordinate a board building day where all members get together for team building activities.

Tom Daly researched the possibility of a board building day. It was decided that this type of event was best planned for warmer weather. It seemed unnecessary to hold the event in the spring, so close to the end of the fiscal year. Therefore, this team building event will be held in the beginning of new fiscal year.

6. Create a Horizon handbook. Become more document based in an effort to share information and ideas via our website. Should include task lists, agendas, minutes, donation letters, calendar/timeline and other pertinent documents.

Members of the Board of Directors and Committee Chairpersons have begun gathering documents so that all information important to the Association is housed all in one place. From this, a guidebook can be assembled and distributed to all new committee and board members. A calendar can also be published to give all members an overview of what happens throughout the year.

7. Electronic newsletter – set up the newsletter to be emailed to database. Geri Skudney and Mike Trimpe have set up the electronic newsletter and are working on building the email database list.

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Long Term GoalsDate: Continuous

Committee Members: Various Board Members volunteer to assist on these projects

Overview:The Board of Directors sets these goals on or around the Annual Meeting. These goals are reviewed continually throughout the Fiscal Year and are kept over a three to five year period until they are met. Various Board Members volunteer to work on these projects and then discuss the progress at Board Meetings.

2009 Review:1. Build a shed – Horizon is currently renting storage monthly and housing all our

equipment in Normal, IL. If we had our own shed we would save on rental costs of the space and truck rental. It would take less time to set up camp. Our equipment would not be constantly tossed around in transport.

The Board of Directors and the Camp Committee is working continuously with Timber Pointe Outdoor Center to make this happen. Currently they are waiting for the Easter Seals legal team to work out an agreement so that the Board of Directors can assess the financial responsibility of this endeavor.

2. Get an office – Horizon would love to have an office where we could house all of our materials and records. This would make the business aspect of Horizon more effective and efficient. Board meetings could be held here which would cut conference call costs. Having our own Xerox machine would be a nice perk. We would also save money by having our own address for mail. We currently rent a box at the UPS store for approximately $450 a year. We may be able to save on postage if we use bulk mail in the area. We could also do outreach and educational programs from our office location.

The Board of Directors has begun examining various possibilities with shared office space. At this time they have not found a price they are willing to commit to long term. Further investigation is happening now and the Board will continue to reassess this financial commitment.

3. New medical equipment – Horizon is in desperate need of some new equipment. We need 4 new Hoyer lifts. We need new hospital beds.

The Association is down to only 5 hospital beds. When comparing the prices that have been found to purchase bed to the price of renting them, it does not seem to be worth spending such a large amount of money. It may even be more beneficial to not purchase the equipment and downsize the shed that is currently being rented. The Association will continue to research purchasing this equipment, but will hold off for either a much lower price or a shed closer to the site. A shed onsite would mean greater ease and safety with the transportation of the equipment. Owning more equipment might be more sensible without the distance it now must travel.

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