The Gurnee Park District Board of Commissioners announced at the regular April 18 Board Meeting that they have unanimously selected Susie Kuruvilla as the new Executive Director of the Gurnee Park District. Kuruvilla has been serving as the Interim Executive Director since Chuck Balling resigned in February 2006 to accept a similar position with the Glenview Park District. Prior to being tapped for the Interim role, Kuruvilla was the Superintendent of business Services for the Gurnee Park District for the past 8 1/2 years. Prior to joining the Gurnee Park District in 1997, Kuruvilla worked for the Village of Mundelein for five years and in the private sector for several years.

While Kuruvilla was Superintendent of Business Services, the Gurnee Park District received the Government Finance Officer Association Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting for seven consecutive years. Currently Kuruvilla is a member of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and the Gurnee Noon Exchange Club.

Kuruvilla is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) as well as a Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP). She is one of the very few professionals in the Park and Recreation field who has a CPA as well as a CPRP. Kuruvilla is a resident of Gurnee and she and her husband, Dawn, have three children, Josh, Danny and Jessica.

After the appointment was made, President Vicki Paddock stated that the Board of Commissioners had interviewed five excellent candidates for this position. The five candidates were chosen by a search firm hired by the Board from an initial slate of 27 candidates from various parts of the country. “After a careful review of what each could do to lead our Park District to the next level of excellence, it was our unanimous decision that Susie is the best qualified candidate to do so. She knows that the aspirations of the Board and the community are and we feel that she will carry on the tradition of innovative and strong leadership demonstrated by our departing Executive Director, Chuck Balling.” Commissioner Williams commented and other commissioners agreed that “when we started the search, we as a Board kept an open mind towards all candidates. After reviewing the credentials and meeting with five strong candidates, it became very clear that our best candidate was already with us in Gurnee.”