Elmhurst Children’s Assistance Foundation Names Blanche Hill Friend of the Children

Elmhurst Children's Assistance Foundation will present Blanche Hill with the 2011 Friend of the Children Award at the 16th annual ECAF golf outing Aug. 1 at Riverside Golf Club.

Blanche and her husband, David, started Superior Ambulance, a 24-hour operation, from a back room in their home in 1959. As the demand for emergency response grew and medical technology advanced, David and Blanche started Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Service Inc.,  the first emergency ambulance service in DuPage County. Superior is now run by the Hill’s son, David, and continues to serve Elmhurst families and the greater Chicago area.

The Hill family has had a long-time dedication to the children of Glenwood School for Boys and Girls, which nurtures and educates at-risk children by building character and strengthening community. The school benefited for many years from the commitment of David Hill, who served on the school’s board of directors. Following his death in 2002, Blanche was appointed to succeed him on the board, and she currently serves the school as a trustee.

Blanche has been CEO and chairman of the board for Suburban Bank & Trust since 2002. Among local organizations that have benefited from her and the bank’s involvement are Elmhurst Memorial Hospital, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst Historical Museum, Elmhurst Symphony Orchestra, Lizzadro Museum, Special Kid’s Day, Elmhurst Park District, District 205 Foundation, Elmhurst YMCA and ECAF.

In 2008, when Suburban Bank & Trust was honored by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce as Business of the Year, she said:

“This is a community truly based with people who are about each other. We have excellent schools, parks, museums, a YMCA, an orchestra, a great library, cottage and now, a brand new hospital.  There are numerous organizations that do so much to improve our quality of life. It is a great pleasure to give back, both personally and professionally, to a community that has done so much for all of us over the years."