Who has made this town a better place to live?

For 31 years the village of Coal City honored one of its citizens with the Community Service Award, a salute to the recipient’s dedication to the community and the pride they have shown in making the town a better place.

The tradition of honoring the recipient during the annual Octoberfest celebration ceased after 2018, as the fall festival was canceled in 2019 due to the village’s reconstruction of South Broadway. When the festival ended, so did the village’s recognition program. That is going to change as the village has announced its plans to honor a citizen this fall.

The community is being asked to provide the Village Board the names of Coal City residents deserving of the recognition.

“The mayor and trustees are excited about the past success of Fall Fest and with that returning to the tradition of honoring a citizen with the Community Service Award,” said Village Administrator Matt Ftitz.

Nominees should be residents of Coal City who have expressed community pride by being actively involved in community projects and committees. In the words of the village administrator, “someone who goes above and beyond.”

Nominations are currently being accepted. A form is available on the village website at www.coalcity-il.gov.

In submitting someone for consideration one must provide a list of organizations the individual is involved with and community projects they have led or participated in, and most importantly, why they should receive the award.

Nominations will be reviewed by the mayor and village trustees during the Board’s Sept. 13 meeting.

The honored citizen will then be recognized during Coal City’s Fall Fest on Saturday, Sept. 16. The mayor will present the award at 5 p.m. in front of Babe’s Tap located in the 600 block of S. Broadway.

The first recipient of the award was Ray Lyons in 1987 and the most recent was Ann Gill in 2018. Additional honorees include—Lucille DeGulie, Harold Holsinger, James Micetich Ken P. Miller, Keith Roseland, Kathleen Simons, Rita Wise, Dean McKinney, Juanita Pantelone, George Hanson, Donna Wharrie, Brittney Kaluzny and Irving DeWald.