Randolph Society Awards: Nominations open to honor accomplished local residents
The Randolph Society Foundation has opened the nomination process for its annual awards, that honor outstanding historical citizens of Randolph County and their achievements.
"The Randolph Society Foundation is seeking to honor the prominent men and women who contributed to Randolph County by living extraordinary lives," said Marc Kiehna, founding member of the Randolph Society Foundation.
"Through their deeds and notoriety, they have added to the reputation of Randolph County being one of the 'great' counties in Illinois," he added. "We encourage everyone who knows of a person of special merit to submit their nomination to the Randolph Society Foundation for consideration."
Nominations may be made by accessing the society website www.randolphsociety.org or contacting Kiehna by mail at the Randolph County Courthouse, 1 Taylor St., Chester, IL 62233 or by email at mkiehna@randolphco.org.
Nominations should include a name, picture, and a narrative highlighting why the individual is worthy of being honored.
The nominations are open to everyone and will be accepted through Oct. 30, 2020. Nominees must have died at least five years ago to be eligible. The Foundation Board will review the applicants and select up to five nominees. The Honorees will be announced weekly beginning in January of 2020 with a reception to be held soon after.
The honorees will be honored with plaques that tell their story, displayed on a prominent wall in the Randolph County Courthouse. The plaques will hang in the designated area of the Courthouse on permanent display and be available to the public for viewing during normal county business hours.
The Randolph Society members are highlighted on a special website www.randolphsociety.org.
In-depth stories of the honorees are included with video footage when available. The current list of honorees includes: John Willis Menard, Albert, John, Walter, and Kenneth Hunter, Nora Lane, William E. Mullins, Jr., and Pastor Henry Gerecke for the Class of 2017. George M. Khoury, Elzie Segar, James Thompson, Charles Briggs Cole, Alice Emily Cole, Gilbert Holmes and Emma Penny Holmes for the Class of 2018. Richard Durfee, Samuel Crozier, Roger Wolff, Nance Legins Costley, Harry Hamilton and Dorothy Ivanuck for the Class of 2019. William Hayes, Percy Clerc, Thomas Mather, Irvin Peithmann, Ruth Gilster, and Marie Rouensa for the Class of 2020.