The founding family of Scheck Industries, a major Midwest contracting firm, has donated a building valued at more than $1.6 million to Seguin Services, Inc., to help enrich the lives of seniors. This donation is the latest effort in the family’s legacy of community care, which spans more than 20 years.
The Scheck family donated Rascal’s Restaurant in La Grange Park, IL, to Seguin, a non-profit agency that assists children and adults with disabilities. The donation was made by Richard and Judy Scheck, Rick and Megan Scheck, Mike and Kate Scheck, and Chris Scheck, in memory of the late Betty Scheck.
“This is the largest single donation to Seguin in its history and as our nation faces difficult economic times, it is wonderful to see that philanthropy is still alive and well in the heartland of America,” said John Voit, President and CEO of Seguin.
Richard and Betty Scheck were married for 29 years and lived in North Riverside, IL. The Scheck family had always felt they should give back to the community. The concerns that seniors and their families face were close to their hearts since they cared for Richard’s mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease, before her death. Betty cared for her mother-in-law personally for several years, so she realized the many concerns that individuals must face as their relatives grow older.
Seguin converted the restaurant into the Betty Scheck Senior Center, which offers day services and activities to seniors with and without developmental disabilities and other special needs. The Scheck Family sees this donation as a wonderful, enduring tribute to Betty.
“We will always love and remember Betty for the care she extended to others,” said Richard Scheck, “The center is a tribute to her commitment to her family, friends and to the community.”
A Long Journey from Day 1
Today, Scheck Industries, based in Countryside, IL, is an industry leader in the fields of power and process piping, pipe and modular fabrication, instrumentation, HVAC and boiler services. The company has come a long way since it opened in 1984. When Richard Scheck formed the original company, the Scheck Mechanical Corporation, his work fleet was composed of a pick-up truck and a station wagon. The company grew quickly and in May 1984, he opened his first office on the first floor of Unique Plumbing in Brookfield, IL.
“It was the most challenging yet rewarding time of my career, to see our small company take off so fast,” said Richard. “Then and now, we owe our company’s growth to our loyal workforce.” In 1989, Richard became Mayor of North Riverside, IL, a village of 8,000 residents. He continued to lead Scheck Industries with the help of his sons, Rick, Mike, and Chris. In 1996, the Scheck family moved their corporate headquarters to Countryside, IL.
The Betty Scheck Shuffle
In 1999, two years after Betty Scheck lost her life to cancer, her family and employees created the Betty Scheck Walk for Cancer, later renamed the Betty Scheck Shuffle. The event began as a walk for cancer and eventually turned into a 5K run and one-mile walk hosted annually by the Village of North Riverside and the Scheck family. The event has raised more than $1.5 million for the American Cancer Society.
“We’ll always be grateful to the participants who came out to support early detection, awareness and education of cancer,” said Rick Scheck, founder and co-chairman of the event. Though 2009 was the event’s final year, the Scheck family continues to support the American Cancer Society. Rick Scheck represents his family as co-chair of Chicago’s Black and White Ball fundraiser, and as committee member of the Chicago Select Golf Invitational, which has collected more than $4,000,000 to help fight cancer.
The Richard N. Scheck Village Commons
Richard Scheck served five terms as mayor of North Riverside and in that time, created hundreds of programs to benefit local residents. At the April 2009 swearing-in of his successor, Ken Krochmal, Richard said, “The residents of North Riverside gave me an opportunity to do something that people dream about and never get an opportunity to do, and for 20 years. I think I have helped to make a difference in this town and that is what I wanted to do from the very beginning.” Upon his retirement, the first act of the new village board was to honor Scheck by renaming the Village Commons government center as the Richard N. Scheck Village Commons.
A Legacy of Community Care
In September 2009, Seguin announced the dedication of The Scheck House, a residence for individuals with disabilities, in honor of Richard Scheck, recognizing his longtime support of children and adults served by Seguin. Throughout the history of Scheck Industries, the Scheck family has upheld an ongoing legacy of community care. “We are thankful for our success in business,” said Richard, “and in turn, we believe we should help others by giving back to the community. We’re all in this together.”
Family owned and operated since 1984, Scheck has grown from its early days as a ‘mom-and-pop’ shop to its current status as one of America’s Top Specialty Contractors, as cited by Engineering News-Record, with a workforce of nearly 2,000 employees annually and projects completed in more than 30 states.
For additional information on Scheck Industries, visit www.goscheck.com.