Lansing Village Clerk Vivian Payne included among Women of Honor

Payne, Joyce Forbes, Sallie D. Penman, and Rose McGill to be honored at Thornton Township brunch

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (February 23, 2018) – “She has spent much of her life focusing on helping people in a very selfless way,” said Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli about Vivian Payne. “She truly loves Lansing and the southland and does everything she can to make her community better.” These are the reasons Payne was chosen as a 2018 Woman of Honor.

The annual Women of Honor event is an invitation-only brunch during Women’s History Month that celebrates community and local heroes. This year’s, the tenth, will be hosted by the Thornton Township Human Relations Commission and Supervisor Zuccarelli at the Serbian Social Center in Lansing on Saturday, March 3.

Zuccarelli has known Payne since her days as Executive Assistant to former Lansing Mayor Norm Abbott, a role that also led to serving as Deputy Clerk, Freedom of Information Officer, Traffic Compliance Administrator, and Zoning Board Secretary. Payne interacts with hundreds of Lansing volunteers at the annual Community Clean-Up Day, which she first organized in 2010. This year she is working to establish Lansing’s first Beautification Committee, which will organize additional clean-up events as well as planting and maintaining the flowers throughout the downtown business district.

Payne was born and raised in Thornton and is now a 24-year resident of Lansing. In addition to serving as Village Clerk, she also represents Lansing on the Board of Trustees at South Suburban College. She is a member and former president of the Lansing Business Women’s Association, an organization that provides women with professional development opportunities through leadership, education, and networking.

The three other honorees at this year’s Women of Honor brunch are Hudson Township Trustee Joyce Forbes, South Holland Village Clerk Sallie D. Penman, and community activist Rose McGill.