Prior to taking the field for Kane County Employee Recognition Night at Cougars’ FifthThird Bank Ballpark, someone asked Deborah Banker if she was ready to throw out the first pitch.

“Got a good arm?” she was asked.

“No,” she said. “I got a bad knee.”

Banker, a Kane County Department of Employment & Education (KCDEE) employee with 40 years of service, delivered the first pitch brilliantly — better than Steve Trout, in my opinion, the 1984 Division Champion Cub pitcher, who was on hand along with his teammates, Gary Matthews and Lee Smith.

Ah, you can’t beat fun at the old ballpark.

The pre-game, Kane County Employee Recognition Night festivities started with Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen handing out pins to employees of 24 years or more. You can see the full list below.

From there, the county-employee entourage, escorted by Ozzie the Cougar, walked a lap inside the stadium, waving to fans while the announcer read the names and thanked employees for their years of service.

After Banker threw out the first pitch, the employees gathered in good old Section 115, enjoying the perfect evening, the ballpark food and an entertaining baseball game. After three innings (I had to leave to post this photo gallery and finish the newsletter), the Cougars were up 2-0, and Cubs’ top draft pick, Kyle Schwarber, was one-for-two with an RBI and one run scored.

About 167 Kane County employees and family members attended the game, and for any tax watchdogs out there, each employee paid his or her own way. The event was orchestrated brilliantly, I must say, by Susan Brown.

“I’m just happy so many people turned out for the game,” she said. “They work so hard, and they deserve the recognition.”

Here’s a list of the folks who have served Kane County residents for 20 years or more:

45-Plus Years of Service

• Suzanne Byrum, State’s Attorney’s Office — 45 years

40-Plus Years of Service

• Janet Halsey, State’s Attorney’s Office — 44 years
• Deborah Banker, KCDEE — 40 years
• Lynne Ellberg, Animal Control — 40 years

30-Plus Years of Service

• Hamid Ahmed, Development Department — 39 years
• Della Winckler, Treasurer’s Office — 39  years
• James Caulfield, Sheriff ‘s Office — 38 years
• John Guddendorf, Transportation — 36  years
• Cecelia Hackman, Circuit Clerk’s Office — 36 years
• Terry Jensen, Circuit Clerk’s Office — 36 years
• Thomas Bumgarner, Sheriff’s Office — 35 years
• Deborah Phillips, Information Technologies — 35 years
• Martha Poe, Sheriff’s Office — 35 years
• Tarri Banas, Information Technologies — 34 years
• Linda Hagemann, State’s Attorney’s Office — 34 years
• Peggy Stover, Information Technologies — 34 years
• Thomas Benson, Veteran’s Commission — 33 years
• James Essig, Circuit Clerk’s Office — 33 years
• John Essig, Circuit Clerk’s Office  — 33 years
• Ann Lambert, Circuit Clerk’s Office — 33 years
• Barbara Biddle, Judiciary and Courts — 32 years
• Jeffrey Bumbar, Sheriff”s Office — 32 years
• Randy Reusch, Court Services/Adult Drug Court — 32 years
• George Torres, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 32 years
• Dale Tucker, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 32 years
• Thomas Beart, Transportation — 31 years
• Gary Erickson, Information Technologies — 31 years
• Ronald Grommes, Sheriff’s Office — 31 years
• Juan Mancilla, Sheriff’s Office — 31 years
• Douglas Naughton, Judiciary and Courts — 31 years
• Ira Nelson, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 30 years
• Andrew Smith, Sheriff’s Office — 30 years
• Lisa Smith, Circuit Clerk’s Office — 30 years
• Sonya Tucker, Court Services/Juvenile Justice Center — 30 years

20-Plus Years of Service

• Rick Anselme, Court Service, Juvenile Justice Center — 28 years
• Colleen Cole, Sheriff — 28 years
• Thomas Mack, Development — 28 years
• Martha Offutt, Gruber Court Services/Court Services Admin — 28 years
• Mary Smith, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 28 years
• Daniel Swanson, Sheriff — 28 years
• Mazher Ahmed, Information Technologies — 27 years
• Emily Blacksmith, Sheriff — 27 years
• Michael Des Jardine, Sheriff — 27 years
• Barbara Gentilcore, Recorder — 27 years
• Inderpal Marwaha, Recorder — 27 years
• Darlene Nelson, Sheriff — 27 years
• Daniel O’Hara, Sheriff — 27 years
• Lori Sarro Lowe, Health — 27 years
• Shirley Smith, Judiciary and Courts — 27 years
• David Soderquist, Development — 27 years
• Marilyn Wenberg, Circuit Clerk — 27 years
• Kenneth Anderson, Environmental Management — 26 years
• Julie Goodwick, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 26 years
• Linda Haines, Transportation — 26 years
• Victor Mead, Health — 26 years
• Thomas Rickert, Transportation — 26 years
• Thomas Rosebush, Sheriff — 26 years
• Kathryn Seifrid, Judiciary and Courts — 26 years
• Douglas Sherrell, Circuit Clerk — 26 years
• Thomas Szabo, Transportation — 26 years
• Scott Ver Vynck, Transportation — 26 years
• Robert Baloun, Sheriff — 25 years
• Heidi Baxter, State’s Attorney — 25 years
• William Edwards, Transportation — 25 years
• Zahida Fakroddin, County Clerk — 25 years
• Gregory Flowers, Sheriff — 25 years
• Robin Huber, Supervisors of Assessment — 25 years
• Alice Jones, Court Services/Juvenile Justice Center — 25 years
• Kevin Kleveno, Sheriff — 25 years
• Daniel Koessl, Regional Office of Education — 25 years
• Sandra Kolek, Information Technologies — 25 years
• Diane Lilly, Judiciary and Courts — 25 years
• Janet Lusk Court Services/Court Services Admin — 25 years
• Tim Mescher, Development — 25 years
• Michael Newbolds, Building Management — 25 years
• Kathleen Orozco, Circuit Clerk — 25 years
• Steven Placek, KCDEE — 25 years
• Paul Schuch, Development/Water Resources — 25 years
• Barbara Schum, Transportation — 25 years
• Ellen Sienkiewicz, Information Technologies — 25 years
• Elizabeth Swanson, Health — 25 years
• Kathy Swedberg, Health — 25 years
• Korey Wallace, Sheriff — 25 years
• Katherine Wickens, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 25 years
• Bev Doran, Supervisors of Assessment — 24 years
• Jeffery Jefko, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 24 years
• Alan Johnson, Sheriff — 24 years
• Donna King, Supervisors of Assessment — 24 years
• Natalie Kruse, Sheriff — 24 years
• Beverly Lopez, Health — 24 years
• Barbara Mika, Court Services/Diagnostic Center  —24 years
• Beth Peccarelli, Public Defender — 24 years
• Pamela Petoskey, Information Technologies — 24 years
• Sherrie Robotham, State’s Attorney — 24 years
• David Scholes, Recorder — 24 years
• Elizabeth Stutz, Court Services/Court Services Admin — 24 years
• Kevin Tindall, Sheriff — 24 years
• Kathleen Vermaat, Circuit Clerk — 24 years
• Susan Warfel, Judiciary and Courts — 24 years
• Richard Campbell, Sheriff — 23 years
• Nancy Campeggio, Circuit Clerk — 23 years
• Wayne Carter, Sheriff — 23 years
• Debra Croddy Human Resource Management — 23 years
• Nancy Hester, State’s Attorney — 23 years
• Michael Husto, Sheriff — 23 years
• Monica Lawrence, Circuit Clerk — 23 years
• Stephen Lawrence, Sheriff — 23 years
• Sally Lee, Public Defender — 23 years
• James Lewis, Sheriff — 23 years
• Donnie Richardson Jones, Supervisors of Assessment — 23 years
• Amy Swierkosz Brick Sierra, Court Serv/Juvenile Justice Center — 23 years
• Domi Tant, Sheriff — 23 years
• Holly Winter, Supervisors of Assessment — 23 years
• Dawn Barsanti, County Board — 22 years
• Caroline Bjornson, Sheriff — 22 years
• David Herrmann, Transportation — 22 years
• John Hickey, Sheriff — 22 years
• Daniel Holloway, Sheriff — 22 years
• Mary Ellen Hughes, State’s Attorney — 22 years
• Patrick Keaty, Sheriff — 22 years
• Glen Keeling, Development — 22 years
• Larry Marcrum, Sheriff — 22 years
• Willie Mayes, Sheriff — 22 years
• Sheila McCraven, Human Resource Management — 22 years
• Mari Moore, Judiciary and Courts — 22 years
• James Mowers, Transportation — 22 years
• Thomas Nicoski, Information Technologies — 22 years
• Linda Scham, State’s Attorney — 22 years
• Laura Stegin,g Circuit Clerk — 22 years
• Kevin Williams, Sheriff — 22 years
• Michael Beatus, Sheriff — 21 years
• Christian Bommelman, Sheriff — 21 years
• Lorraine Chidester, Information Technologies — 21 years
• Christopher Collins, Sheriff — 21 years
• Charles Conklin, Sheriff — 21 years
• Rosanne Cira, Fitzgerald, Court Services/Court Serv Admin — 21 years
• Halle Cox, Law Library — 21 years
• Kenneth Cyzen, Sheriff — 21 years
• Sol Figueroa, Health — 21 years
• Marianne Gemmer, Circuit Clerk — 21 years
• Juanita Gonzalez, Health — 21 years
• Michelle Halbesma, State’s Attorney — 21 years
• Michelle Lemon,s Kane Comm — 21 years
• Yvette Millet, Health — 21 years
• Nancy Murphy, Health — 21 years
• Juliana Okapal, Health — 21 years
• Christopher Peeler, Sheriff — 21 years
• Teresa Roman, Health — 21 years
• Divya Sarang, State’s Attorney 21 years
• Crystal Thompson, Sheriff — 21 years
• David Wagner, Sheriff — 21 years
• Mary Zaeske, Judiciary and Courts — 21 years
• Brad Zentmyer, Sheriff — 21 years
• Gregory Brown, Public Defender — 20 years
• John David,Building Management — 20 years
• Brian Demeter, Sheriff — 20 years
• Eric Fisher, Sheriff — 20 years
• Scott Flower,s Sheriff — 20 years
• Timothy Flowers, Sheriff — 20 years
• Diane Lisson, Circuit Clerk — 20 years
• Cheryl Lyne, Sheriff — 20 years
• Steven Reitmeyer, Sheriff — 20 years
• Salvador Rodriguez, Sheriff — 20 years
• Kathleen Steberl, Sheriff — 20 years
• David Thorgesen, Sheriff  —20 years
• Silvia Tijerina, Health — 20 years
• Mark VanKerkhoff, Development — 20 years
• Mary Wcislo, Circuit Clerk — 20 years
• Judith Zwart, Health — 20 years