A career in recreation, a life in fitness led Trudy Wakeman into the racing and events business – Shaw Local

For Trudy Wakeman, staying active isn’t just advice. Some days she jumps in for an early-morning swim for fitness and fun, and other days she plans a route for a 5K walking race through her neighborhood.

“I’m definitely a morning person,” Wakeman says. “I have friends who are school teachers, and we meet up to swim at Crystal Lake at 6:15 a.m., and then we play pickleball at 8 a.m. I like to get that done before I start my day.”

She’s been riding bikes, playing sports and living an active lifestyle since she was a child, and her dedicated career in parks and recreation has provided countless opportunities for others to get active too.

“It’s in my DNA,” Wakeman says. “My parents rode bikes everywhere. We were active, but not competitive.”

Wakeman inherited her parents’ love of living an active lifestyle, but she also loves to compete, having taken part in nine Ironman triathlons. These days, she helps others get competitive as the event manager for popular local races and rides through her business, Race Production by Trudy. She and a team of dedicated volunteers have race packages ready and the course marked and ready to go on race day.

Wakeman is one of 11 women from McHenry County who are recipients of the Northwest Herald’s Outstanding Women Award for 2024. The award recognizes those who demonstrate leadership in their professional fields, serve as role models and mentors, advocate for positive social change and contribute to their communities through their time, talents and resources.

Management even came naturally to Wakeman, whose career in parks and recreation leadership had her honing her skills over the years with local park districts and recreation departments. In 1998, she was hired by the Village of Lake in the Hills as their new parks and recreation department supervisor. Before she worked in the community, residents didn’t have their own parks and recreation department and relied on programs from neighboring communities.

“Trudy came on board and created a robust parks program,” said Kim Ulbrich, former Lake in the Hills parks commissioner. “This was a great thing for residents who had never participated in parks programs while living in Lake in the Hills. Now they could participate in ballroom dancing, swimming, various programs for children and summer camps. Eventually, we also added day trips for seniors and safe town events.”

Wakeman was appointed chief within two years of joining the department and served in that position for 16 years.

“It was fun. It was all about recreation and giving people an opportunity,” Wakeman said.

She established programs for all ages, from financial advisor classes to dance classes, and her influence continues to reach today’s generations. Of all the programs she has introduced, Wakeman considers her proudest achievement to be the summer day camp.

“Starting a day camp. That was my biggest desire at Lake in the Hills. It took us three years to find a facilities and recreation director. It’s been smooth sailing from there,” Wakeman said.

Though she is retired from the Parks and Recreation Department, she continues to support the program as part of Lake in the Hills’ parks advocacy group, the People for Parks Foundation, where she works with residents including past recipient Liz Felts Wakeman, a Crystal Lake attorney who nominated Trudy Wakeman but is no relation to her.

“She’s a really passionate person,” Felt-Wakeman said.

Trudy Wakeman has worked in special events her entire career, and founding Race Productions by Trudy in 2018 was a natural extension of her organizational skills and love of activities.

“I completed my first 5K marathon straight out of college, so it was only natural that I would start organizing events,” Wakeman said.

Friend Dennis Wasserman said Wakeman’s energy and enthusiasm rallied an “army of volunteers” to the event.

“She’s really good at getting others involved and getting them involved,” Wasserman said. “I love volunteering with Trudy.”