Stan Ommen and Desiree Sayle
Stan Ommen and Desiree Sayle
Illinois State University Trustee and State Farm Bank President Stan Ommen received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony in the White House Executive Building. The award, which recognizes individuals providing 4,000 hours of volunteer service over a lifetime, was created at the President’s direction by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
“I was at the White House to present other volunteer awards and had no idea that I was receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award so it was quite a surprise for me,” Ommen said.
Ommen, a ’63 Illinois State business administration alum, was presented the award by Desiree Sayle, deputy assistant to the President and executive director of USA Freedom Corps. He was nominated for the award by the Financial Services Roundtable, a consortium of the nation’s largest financial services institutions.
An active member of the Roundtable, he served as this year’s chairman of the national Community Build Day effort. Under his leadership, the 2006 Community Build Day was the largest and most successful to date. The local Habitat for Humanity Patriot Build and Women Build projects were among the community development projects undertaken in each of the 50 states on Community Build Day in August.
In addition to leading volunteer efforts at a national level, Ommen has been actively involved in local volunteer and civic endeavors. He is the chair of the Illinois State University Foundation Board, a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and has served on the McLean County Historical Society, the McLean County Economic Development Council and the Chamber of Commerce as well as participated in numerous local fundraising and economic development efforts including those for Unit 5 Schools, the Normal Theater and the Community Cancer Center.
Ommen is a member of the national board of directors for the Local Initiative Support Corporation, an organization that helps improve communities across the country with loans and grants. He is currently on the executive steering committee of the National Housing Policy Council, is chairman of the board for the Identify Theft Assistance Corporation, an organization that helps identity theft victims restore their credit, and on the board of directors of Social Compact, which works with communities to identify the true economy of low and moderate income neighborhoods to help them attract businesses.
