Pam Sanhamel ran track while at Downers Grove South High School and cross country and track while attending Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.
Now she spends the better part of her days racing after her two sons, Ryan and Shane.
“They do keep me very busy,” Sanhamel said. “I play a lot with them, and am up usually at 6 a.m. every day when Ryan wakes up. He is my alarm clock.”
The accomplished graphic artist — she has a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Illinois Wesleyan — continues to keep her graphic arts skills sharp these days by consulting and providing art for various projects.
“I recently designed T-shirts for a family reunion, and help people edit resumes, print orders and letters,” Sanhamel said.
Recently her design of a logo to be used in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of the Woodridge Park District and the 50th anniversary of the Village of Woodridge was judged the best among about 40 entries.
“It’s nice to know my creativity and skills will be utilized to promote the anniversaries,” Sanhamel said.
The distinction is one of many during her career with the park district, including launching the district’s first Web site, re-designing the logo now used by the park district, producing more than 15 programs that aired on Woodridge Community Television Channel 6 and raising more than $20,000 in sponsorships for the Woodridge Jubilee a few years ago.
“That’s something I am really proud of because that set a record for Jubilee sponsorships,” Sanhamel said.
Designing on a computer, Sanhamel still likes to sketch things out before refining projects.
“I’ve also worked in water colors when I paint,” Sanhamel said.
She got her first real taste of park district public relations while working as a camp counselor at the Westmont Park District while attending Illinois Wesleyan.
“While working as a counselor I began helping out designing flyers, and enjoyed working with arts and crafts as part of the day camp,” she added.
She worked for the Des Plaines Park District for four years after graduating from college in 1993, spent time doing marketing for a local life insurance broker, and then landed her dream job with the Woodridge Park District in 2000.
“It was a perfect fit. I got to work in my home town and I really enjoyed being involved in parks and recreation,” she said.
What does the future hold for a stay-at-home mother when the children start going to school?
“For now I would like to get back into running more, maybe train for a few 5K runs. But when the kids are in school, maybe I’ll do some freelance work or start my own business,” Sanhamel said.
Woodridge, IL —
