A PASSION FOR FOSTERING COMMUNITY

Earlier this year, Lake Barrington welcomed Sharon Peterson as the new village administrator, and the future of the village continues to shine bright with her at the helm.

Since May, Peterson graciously stepped into the role previously held by Karen Daulton Lange, who for the last six years made an influential and indelible mark on the community. As Lange went on to retire, Peterson effortlessly took on the position to begin a new chapter for the village bringing a fresh perspective and a passion for fostering community.

With 25 years of municipal experience, Peterson is adamant about making a difference. For her, it all starts with providing customer- centric excellence. “I plan on translating first-class customer service into my role with my interactions with the residents of Lake Barrington and the business community,” she says. “My customer-service approach not only applies to the residents and the business owners of the village, but it’s important to me that the elected officials and village staff are treated with respect and gratitude as well.”

To provide such a high level of customer service, Peterson dove straight into processes and procedures by assisting in updating the building permit software. “Once the new system is put into place, the entire process should be simplified,” she says. “I’m excited about this because the project was in its early stages when I came on board and it will be exciting to see how it is once it is finished, making this a much more seamless experience.”

Next up on her agenda is bringing in more businesses to Lake Barrington to bolster innovation and growth for the community. “I enjoy receiving the phone call from a developer who is interested in a particular property and wants to meet in person to discuss what type of business they are looking to bring to the community,” she says. “These local and small businesses are what makes up the community, making each community unique and we need to recognize and support them.”

Leading by example, she is an advocate for shopping and dining locally. “The Barrington Area Chamber of Commerce has done a great job in promoting and advertising our local businesses and their events,” she says. “The more I settle into this role and the community, residents can find me attending more of these events so I can get to know the residents and business owners better and develop a personal relationship with them.” In addition, she plans on supporting Lake Barrington’s local and small businesses by not only shopping and dining at them herself but also recommending them to friends and family members, too.

“I look forward to getting to know the residents and businesses better, and I’m certainly looking forward to enjoying all of what Lake Barrington’s restaurants, shops, and people here have to offer,” she says. “It’s such a beautiful community and I’m really proud to say I work here.”

Village of Lake Barrington is located at 23860 N. Old Barrington Road in Lake Barrington, 847-381-6010, lakebarrington.org.