Together We Cope

We are happy to have been able to help Together We Cope with donations for their charitable efforts this holiday season. As an agency, thorntonpowell was able to raise over $250 in cash and gift certificates along with nearly 200 pounds of food prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.

A fellow member of the Oak Forest-Crestwood Area Chamber of Commerce, Together We Cope is a nonprofit agency that assists families in temporary crisis from more than 20 communities. From their location in Tinley Park, Together We Cope operates a food pantry, resale shop, and provides assistance with some costs such as rent or utility bills. They have hundreds of volunteers and would always be willing to accept donations from anyone feeling charitable, especially during this holiday season.

To contact Together We Cope, please visit their website at www.togetherwecope.com or give them a call at (708) 633-5040.

Customer Spotlight: Summit Auto Center

Established in 1993 and located on three and a half acres in Summit Illinois, this auto center has been in business for 18 years. The operation consists of an auto repair shop, auto body shop, 24 hour towing service, and storage. There are three buildings total, one of which was completely remodeled about three years ago. Occupying the buildings are a total of nine mechanical bays and lifts, frame machines for both heavy and light duty trucks, spray booths, and a top of the line John Bean Laser Alignment Machine.

Summit Auto Center specializes in all makes and models of vehicles including electric and hybrids. Given several very close and secure relationships with fleet and leasing companies they also do a fair share of business repairing commercial cargo vans and light duty fleet trucks as well. In order to continually provide excellent service and repair, Summit has flexible hours of operation open Monday through Friday 7 am to 6 pm and Saturday 7 am to 5 pm and do not forget about their 24 hour towing and road service.

Is your old junker not worth repairing or simply in the market for a new vehicle? Summit also has a very abundant selection of inventory for sale to choose from conveniently located on their lot. So whether you are looking for a local auto center to fulfill all your car’s needs or looking to purchase a personal or commercial vehicle all together, keep Summit Auto Center in mind!

Bears vs Packers: A Fan's Perspective

Packers vs Bears Christmas Day 2011, who is going to win?! A true Cheeseheads’ perspective of the top 5 reasons the Packers are going to claim this victory for the second time this season!

• Their record! Not to state the obvious but the Packers are currently undefeated in the regular season. That is a 15, soon to be 16, game winning streak. Unstoppable.

• Aaron Rodgers is our QB! Enough said here.

• The Packers Defense is solid. Jay Cutler was sacked 11 times the first two weeks of the season and we all know how brittle he is these days. Whether it is a bum knee or a broken thumb, he better be grateful he is staying out of the kitchen Christmas Day because the Packers defense is going to bring the HEAT. Dom Capers, the Packers defensive coordinator, is going to work his magic and I predict BJ Raji to dominate. Pressure will be applied from all corners.

• Home field advantage!! Have you ever been to Lambeau Field on a cold winter night?? The atmosphere is phenomenal; one every football fan should experience. The experience alone should be worth while and will hopefully make up for the lack of big name players on the field. I have a hunch that the Packers will be resting their starters by the second half of this game, no need to fully embarrass the Bears, they seem to do a good job of that themselves.

• Statistically speaking, Green Bay has won the last 5 of the 6 games played against the Bears. Green Bay has taken home 13 NFL Titles compared to the 9 the Bears have. Green Bay has made 5 Super Bowl appearances, Bears only twice. I could keep going but let’s just end this by saying the Bears do not have a chance against the reigning SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS!!

December 25th, Christmas Day, holds a special place in the hearts of many. Whether you believe Santa will deliver all your desires in cute, neatly wrapped gift boxes or you look forward to an extravagant meal with family or friends or maybe just receiving a well deserved day off of work, most look forward to this special day. Excitingly, this upcoming Christmas night we can add one more reason to the list, watching the Bears beat the Packers!

• Don’t Underestimate The Underdog: Records don’t mean anything. Heard of the underdog? The Bears improve every year. In 2010 we won the NFC North division. This year we will go even farther!

• Not So Secret Weapon: Devin Hester is our wide receiver. Not only does he have over 2,000 punt return yards, he is also the all-time leader for combined touchdowns on kick returns in the NFL. Bottom line, when Hester has the ball LOOK OUT!

• Sleeper QB: Sure Jay Cutler has had a few unfortunate run-ins with some overweight linebackers and yes he has sustained injuries that have taken him out of key games. However, did you see the score of Hanie’s debut game as QB against Oakland? 20-25 is not bad considering Caleb is not our starting QB. So while Aaron Rodgers is rehearsing State Farm commercials, Caleb will be preparing to bring it!

• Bears Eat Cheese: The Bears/Packers rivalry has been alive and well for nearly 90 years! That is around 180 showdowns between the two. Can you guess who leads that series?? That’s right, DA BEARS!!!

• It’s Christmas: Working on Christmas is always a bummer but just imagine working outside in frigid conditions. Even worse, imagine you had to this in Wisconsin (of all places). Truly the Bears deserve a medal for trekking out to cheese country to deliver a beating. They won’t get their 3.5 hours of travel time back but at least they will have the win. So bust out your blue and orange gear, cue up the fight song and put on your game face. Santa is going coming to town. BEAR DOWN!

December Recipes

“The Belly Rules the Mind”- a Spanish Proverb spoken so well. Good food equals a good day and Christmas feasts have traditionally been luxurious and abundant. Here are some of our very own traditional holiday recipes.

Spinach and Feta Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Kona Inn Banana Bread

Cranberry Salad

Honey-Drizzled Cheddar Cheese

Candy Cane Punch

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes