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Herb and Pat Eldean Sunken Garden
Herb and Pat Eldean reside in Macatawa, Michigan, where Herb is the CEO of Eldean Marine Group and Eldean Development, and Pat is the owner and general manager of piper restaurant.
Herb, an alumnus, earned his B.S. in accounting in 1964. Pat Eldean earned her B.A. from the University of Illinois, in its College of Agriculture, and later earned her M.A. in education also from the University of Illinois. Herb has earned many distinctions as an alumnus, including Distinguished Alumnus—College of Business in 1991, Outstanding Alumnus—Department of Accountancy in 1993 and Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999. Both Herb and Pat love great garden spaces and have won awards for their Macatawa gardens, including: the Garden of the Year, Holland Beautiful Committee 1991, 1996, and 2003.
On their participation in the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center project:
Over the years, I have been privileged to contribute my time to many non-profit boards. I have served on Northern Illinois University’s Foundation Board since September 1995, College of Business Board of Executive Advisors, and I have also served on my local school board for many years. My experience in creating and running a successful business has allowed me to contribute my business expertise to the organizations I’ve worked with, and I enjoyed that.
I believe that a good deal of my success has come directly from the excellent education I received from NIU’s College of Business. Many of the professors at Northern, especially those in the Department of Accountancy, had practical experience in the business world, in addition to their academic experiences. This real-life element that those professors brought into the classroom is part of what helped me to succeed as an entrepreneur.
Anyone who gets ahead in life and can attribute that to their education (at NIU) should feel compelled to support the university. It’s simply a give back. Period.
Giving something back always makes me feel good, and I am happy with my decision to give of both my time and my dollars to improve the lives of others. The idea that I’m helping someone to get an education gives me a great feeling, and I sincerely hope that my gift helps students in their ongoing quest for knowledge.
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Barsema Alumni and
Visitors Center
231 N. Annie Glidden Rd.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815.753.1534
815.753.0278 (fax)
Located on the campus of
Northern Illinois University |
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