Summer camp changed Kimmy Youngman’s life.
At 7 years old, she attended her first weeklong sleepaway camp and immediately knew she had found something special.
“When my mom picked me up at the end of the week, my first words to her were, ‘Can I come back next year?'” Youngman said.
She returned every summer for the next decade as a camper before spending four more years on staff. Along the way, she formed friendships that would last a lifetime, traveled internationally to visit friends she met through camp and even met the man she would later marry.
Today, those experiences shape the work she does every day as recreation supervisor for the Village of Palos Park.
Youngman’s dedication to recreation recently earned her the 2026 Young Professional of the Year Award from the South Suburban Parks and Recreation Professional Association. She received the honor April 9 after being nominated by Recreation Director Stephen DeFalco.
The award recognizes emerging professionals who have made significant contributions to their agencies and communities while demonstrating leadership and commitment to the parks and recreation profession.
Youngman joined the Palos Park Recreation and Parks Department a little more than two years ago after earning a bachelor’s degree in parks and recreation leadership from Aurora University. Since then, she has become a familiar face throughout the community.
Her responsibilities range from planning programs and special events to marketing, facility maintenance and working directly with residents.
“What I enjoy most is the wide variety of responsibilities I have,” Youngman said. “On any given day I might be brainstorming a new program or event, playing with camp kids, or sitting with a longtime Palos Park resident who has stories about this community for decades.”
Those interactions are what she values most.
“I get to be creative, I get to be outside, and I get to meet community members at every stage of life, from brand-new residents to families who have been here for generations,” she said.
One of Youngman’s biggest accomplishments has been growing the village’s Kids Zone Summer Camp program. Entering her third summer overseeing the program, she has helped transform it into one of the department’s most popular offerings.
The camp has tripled in size since she arrived in Palos Park and now regularly sells out.
DeFalco pointed to that success in his nomination letter.
“An example of Kimmy’s leadership and star quality is her work with the Kids Zone Summer Camp Program,” he wrote. “Through her vision, organization and passion, she has transformed it into a thriving, full-summer program with expanded staffing to meet the consistently sold-out program.”
Youngman’s impact reaches beyond Palos Park as well. She is an active member of the South Suburban Parks and Recreation Professional Association, serving on both the Teen/Day Camp and Youth Programming subcommittees and presenting at the organization’s annual Day Camp Workshop. She also participates in the Illinois Park and Recreation Association and attends the annual IPRA/IAPD Soaring to New Heights Conference.
Recognition from fellow professionals is meaningful, she said, but the relationships she builds within the community are what make the work rewarding.
Palos Park Mayor Nicole Sinopoli often refers to the Recreation Department as the village’s “fun department,” a description Youngman happily embraces.
“She’s right — we do have a lot of fun at work,” Youngman said. “What makes it work is that Stephen and I are genuinely a great team that works well together.”
Whether she is organizing an event, welcoming a new family to a program or listening to longtime residents share stories about the village’s past, Youngman sees recreation as a way to bring people together.
The same sense of connection she discovered as a child at summer camp is something she now hopes to create for others.
“Recreation has had such a positive impact on my life,” Youngman said. “Being able to provide those opportunities for other people is incredibly rewarding.”
That passion has helped her build successful programs, earn recognition from her peers and become an important part of the Palos Park community. More importantly, it has allowed her to create the kind of experiences that can leave a lasting impression long after a program ends.
