8 local projects to be honored at the Governor's Mansion on Nov. 15

SPRINGFIELD – The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (Commission) will present 23 localities with honors for the 2018 Governor’s Hometown Awards program during a special reception at the Governor’s Mansion on November 15, 2018 at 1 p.m. The Governor’s Hometown Awards program gives formal recognition to communities that contributed to their community’s quality of life via projects that have strong volunteer support, met a need, and made a definitive impact.

“We are pleased that through the preliminary round of judging, 23 localities have been recognized as either cup finalists, project winners, or project honorable mentions of the program,” said Commission Executive Director Scott McFarland. “The judges saw a variety of community service projects during the application process and were pleased to see so many jurisdictions utilizing volunteers in their communities.”

The Commission deemed four of the 23 projects as cup finalists, which are the best projects in each of the four population divisions of the program. The Commission will present these projects to a new panel of judges. The judges will choose one project as the overall Governor’s Cup Winner and announced at the event on November 15, 2018. The Commission has selected the Village of Aviston as an overall finalist for its project “Vintage Hall Renovation.”

The Commission, also, selected the following local initiatives as project winners and honorable mentions based on the category and population division:

• Beckemeyer - “Train Depot Restoration” (honorable mention)
• East St. Louis Township - “East St. Louis Community Tennis Association/40 Days of NonViolence Initiative”
• Edwardsville - “Growing with the Garden”
• Edwardsville Township - “Kelan's Wheelchair Accessible Swing”
• Madison County - “Beautification of Triad Middle School Student Courtyard”
• O’Fallon – “Nomenclature for Nature” (honorable mention)
• Waterloo - “Share The Feast”

Representatives from all projects honored have been invited to the ceremony and will receive a plaque and a road sign honoring these achievements.

Nomination forms for both the Governor’s Volunteer Service Awards, which honors individual volunteers, for calendar year 2018 efforts are available now at www.serve.illinois.gov.

The Serve Illinois Commission is a 40-member (25 voting and 15 non-voting), bipartisan board appointed by the Governor and administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Its mission is to improve Illinois communities by enhancing volunteerism and instilling an ethic of service throughout the State.

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