At our Installation Banquet, Len Ealey entertained us witha series of trivia questions about some of our fellow Rotarians. Perhaps the one that stumped the audience the most was this one: "Which of the following Rotarians was once a Heavyweight Handler for Fed Ex?" I wonder how many chose the right answer- Heather Fitzanko. Our newsletter editor, Facebook handler, and new board member, Heather perhaps has one of the more diverse and colorful pasts of all Pekin Rotarians. Born and raised in Pekin, Heather married Steve, her high school sweetheart, at 18. She attended a cosmetology school with the intention of getting board certified. They relocated to Florida where she worked for a while at a hair salon in Mango, FL. She soon discovered another calling and went to work for NCNB which later became NationsBank in Tampa. She served as a Teller, Vault Teller, International Teller and, after moving to another branch, became a Teller/Banking Representative. Heather chose to stay home with their first child, Nick. When he turned one she began working in Data Entry for Met Life. It was at that time that Steve wanted to pursue his career in Law Enforcement back home and the couple relocated here where he joined the Pekin Police Department. Going back to work, Heather continued her diverse career path. "I was always seeking opportunities to gain new experience and to grow personally and professionally" she says. "It gave me a chance to learn and discover new areas of interest." She followed an opportunity as a Passenger Service Agent with American Eagle Airlines and worked briefly as a travel agent. That led to a 4 year stint at Fed Ex where she loaded and offloaded airplanes and operated a fork lift. Other times managed data entry and customer service. From there she went to George Young and Sons in the area of Administrative Support while also working part-time at the new Allegiant Air station in Peoria as a Passenger Service Agent. It was in the fall of 2004 when Heather joined AAA Certified Confidential Security Corp in Peoria, a company specializing in document destruction and data security. It was there that she found her true calling. Today she is a Certified Secure Destruction Specialist, an Internal Auditor, NAID CSDS Board of Regents member, head of the company's marketing, and now also company Vice President. An increasingly more active volunteer, Heather has been involved with Peoria Women in Leadership- where she just completed her term as their President. She previously served as ARMA Records Management Executive Board member, Quality Quest for Health Consumer Council Member, and the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Volunteer. Joining Rotary in September 2012, she quickly showed a desire to become more involved in one of her hometown's most esteemed service clubs. She brought a passion for better communication and pushed for a more active role in Facebook, a club newsletter, and development of a club website. It is no wonder that all those things are now firmly in place. "I'm proud to be part of Rotary and all it stands for. I've made new friends and learned so many things about my community and how our club works to serve it better", she told me. As she nostalgically recalled her past, Heather confessed to having at one time cleaned bathrooms at Eastport Marina. She has certainly come a long way and continues in her words to "keep moving forward." We are fortunate to have her as part of our club and thankful that she has assumed a role as a driving force as we also move forward toward our 100th anniversary in 2020 and second century of service. Gary Gillis |