Greetings to all of the residents and businesses in Matteson.

I want to express our sincere thanks to Brian Page who served as our Director of Recreational Services from August 2010 thru October 2011. Brian accepted an exciting career opportunity and we wish Brian and his family all the best. We appreciate Brian's dedication to the Village and all of his hard work that led to the opening of our new state-of-the-art Matteson Community Center. On that same note, I want to welcome Anthony Burton who I appointed as the new Director of Recreational Services on October 17th. I want to thank Anthony for his service as a Plan Commissioner and as a Matteson Village Trustee since September 2008. Anthony has served this Village with distinction and we wish him all the best in his new position. We will miss him on the Board of Trustees, but we are happy that he will continue to serve the Village in this new role.

Congratulations are also in order for Mr. Veloid Cotton who was appointed Village Trustee on November 7th to complete the unexpired term of Anthony Burton. Mr. Cotton has served as a Matteson Plan Commissioner for the past three years and prior to that Mr. Cotton served as a Housing and Human Relations Commissioner for several years. Welcome Trustee Cotton. We are looking forward to all of the value you will add to the Matteson Village Board.

As 2011 comes to a close, we have many examples of successful accomplishments we can all be proud of as we continue to move Matteson forward. April saw the opening of our new Community Center where membership enrollment to date, has far exceeded our original projections. We projected 1800 memberships by the end of 2011 and as of today we have just fewer than 4000 memberships. On the economic development front, we'd like to welcome Ross Dress for Less to the Village. We are very pleased with the ongoing renovation of the Matteson Holiday Inn. The new owners are moving swiftly toward a total remodel of the hotel and the addition of a Bar Louie Restaurant and Lounge that will be completed soon. A Dunkin' Donuts will be constructed on the site of the former Nino's Pizza on Lincoln Hwy. We also very excited about the construction on the Southwest corner of Lincoln Hwy and Cicero. The tenants in this strip mall include Chipolte, Five Guys Burgers and a Vitamin Shop. On the expansion front, Panera Bread is adding a drive-up window to provide more convenience for customers. There are many other examples of positive activity that is occurring in Matteson and I will update you on many of them in this space at a later date, but as you can see despite the economy, we are moving forward and will continue to strive for only the best for Matteson.

As the holidays approach, let's all remember the real reason of the season. We are grateful for the many opportunities that lie ahead for Matteson and as your Village President, I can assure you that we place maintaining a high quality of life for all of our residents and visitors as our highest priority.

I wish all of you a happy and safe holiday season and a blessed and prosperous 2012.

On behalf of Toni, Andrè, Jr., Taylor and myself we wish you Godspeed until we meet again.