Prairieland United Way Announces Annual Meeting and Awards Program:
Prairieland United Way is pleased to announce its annual meeting and awards program, scheduled for April 24, 2024. This year’s gathering will take place at Hamilton’s 110 North East in Jacksonville, Illinois, marking a celebration of community engagement and philanthropic achievements.
The evening will kick off with a social hour at 4:30 pm, offering attendees the chance to mingle and network with fellow community members, followed by the main program at 5:30 pm. In line with tradition, the event promises to be a memorable occasion, filled with recognition of the hard work and dedication of our community partners and volunteers.
Event Details:
- Date: April 24, 2024
- Venue: Hamilton’s 110 North East, Jacksonville, IL
- Social Hour: Begins at 4:30 pm
- Program: Starts at 5:30 pm
The evening will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres, included in the registration cost of $15. Additionally, a cash bar will be available for guests to enjoy.
Among the highlights of the program will be the presentation of awards, including the prestigious Top 20 Business Partners of the 2023 Campaign and the esteemed Helen Baldwin Award. These accolades recognize significant contributions and dedication to the community, celebrating those who have gone above and beyond in their support of Prairieland United Way and its mission.
RSVP Information: Interested community members are asked to RSVP by April 19, 2024, to Karen Walker, Executive Director, by calling 217-245-4557 or via email at karen.walker@prairielandunitedway.org.
Prairieland United Way remains deeply committed to its mission of improving lives and strengthening communities. This annual event is not only a celebration of the past year’s success but also a rallying call for continued support and engagement from the entire community. We look forward to sharing this special evening with our supporters, partners, and friends.
About Prairieland United Way:
Prairieland United Way works to advance the common good by focusing on education, income, and health. These are the building blocks for a good life – a quality education that leads to a stable job, enough income to support a family through retirement, and good health.
For more information about Prairieland United Way or the upcoming annual meeting and awards program, please contact:
Karen Walker, Executive Director
Prairieland United Way
Phone: 217-245-4557
Email: karen.walker@prairielandunitedway.org
Morgan County Garden Club to hold perennial plant sales:
All gardeners are invited to the Morgan County Garden Club Perennial Plant Sale on Tuesday, April 23, from 4-6 p.m. at the Prairie Land Heritage Museum Building at the corner of West Michigan and Lincoln Avenue in South Jacksonville. Local garden club members will be selling perennials from their gardens. These perennials are well adapted to our climate since they have been part of local gardens for many years.
Shoppers may select from hundreds of perennials which may include: shrubs, daylilies, cone flowers, herbs, chives, bee balm, hostas, iris, sedum, ferns, yarrow, columbine, astilbe, coreopsis, phlox, daisies, rudbeckia, lily-of-the-valley, grasses, berries, bulbs, ground covers, etc. Some annuals may be available.
On Saturday, May 18 from 9 a.m.-noon, there will be a second plant sale featuring warmer weather plants and some vegetables at the same location. Contact Plant Sale Chairman, Anita Moody, at 815-871-4980 for more information.
Jacksonville Sunrise Rotary Club presents Quilt of Valor:
A local veteran was surprised with an unexpected award at a recent meeting of the governing board of the local AMVETS. He didn’t receive a medal, or a citation, or a commemorative plaque. Instead, he was presented with a quilt. James R. Duncan is a veteran who served in the U. S. Army from 1969 to 1972, with a tour of duty in Vietnam from 1971 to 1972. He is the most recent local recipient from Quilts of Valor, an organization that has been supporting U S veterans since its inception in 2003.
The concept is simple: Have a local volunteer team donate their time and materials to make a quilt. Local quilters Ella Scaggs and Linda Meece answered the call. The mission of the Quilts of Valor Foundation is to cover all active service members and veterans who have been touched by war with a comforting and healing Quilt of Valor. As of February 29, of this calendar year, 3,990 quilts have been presented across the United States. Since its founding, Quilts of Valor has presented over 377,300 quilts to Americans who have taken the oath of enlistment in the armed forces.
With members of Jacksonville Sunrise Rotary Club present, Ella Scaggs and Linda Meece on behalf of the Tri-County Quilters and the Quilt of Valor Foundation presented James R. Duncan with his quilt on Tuesday, March 26 at a meeting at the AMVETS Post 100 in Jacksonville.
The Village of Chapin Veterans Memorial located at 534 Superior Street will be added as a memorial site to the 2024 Tour of Honor:
Each stone at the memorial is inscribed with the names of mostly local veterans or veterans that have ties to the community from WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm. This War Memorial was erected by the citizens and American Legion Post 878 of Chapin, Illinois.
Tour of Honor Recognizes our Veterans and First Responders
2024 will be the 14th year for Tour of Honor, a self-directed motorcycle ride that honors American heroes such as military veterans, first responders and American workers, and takes place from Spring until Fall.
Tour of Honor was established in 2010 by brothers Steve and Dave Brooks to provide motorcyclists with a way to celebrate their love of riding while celebrating their country.
“The mission is to honor American heroes — mostly military Veterans but also First Responders — by visiting sites paying tribute to them,” said Steve Brooks, co-founder of Tour of Honor. “The ride raises money for three charities: Fisher House Foundation, Gary Sinise Foundation’s Outreach Program for First Responders, and the Gold Star Family Foundation.”
There are roughly 1,000-1,200 participants in TOH annually, and between four and seven memorials are selected per state, including Alaska and Hawaii, to act as participating sites. At each participating site, riders will take a photo of themselves and the memorial to submit to TOH to receive a certificate or trophy for visiting the memorials. In 2023, there were over 39,000 submissions.
The ride is popular among Iron Butt Association riders, because if they visit seven memorials while doing 1,000 miles in a 24-hour period, they earn a special certificate from the IBA.
There are also auxiliary rides such as 9/11 memorials, American Doughboys, War Dogs and K9 hero monuments, Statue of Liberties, Veterans Cemeteries, and Huey helicopters. These change over the years and it’s exciting to see which new ones will be featured.
Registration on the website began on December 1 and continues throughout the riding season. The $125 cost includes stickers, patches, laminated rider flag and season-long scoring. $25 off the top goes to the riders’ choice of charities that include Fisher House Foundation, Gold Star Family Memorial Foundation, and Gary Sinise Foundation for First Responders.
Tour of Honor was recently awarded the American Motorcyclist Association’s “Tour Organizer of the Year.” Many riders call it, “the best excuse to ride I’ve ever had”…. or — because many of the memorials are in small towns off the beaten path — “there are roads I wouldn’t have taken if not for Tour of Honor.” Find out more at tourofhonor.com.
Jacksonville Sunrise Rotary Club announces its annual Mother’s Day Geranium Sale, which will run through April 29:
Those interested in purchasing red geraniums may contact any member of the club to place an order. Club members will deliver purchased geraniums on or after May 10. The sale items are four-inch potted red geraniums and are being sold for $6 each.
This fun event is one of the club’s fund-raisers, supporting the many programs and service projects that make our community a better place. Just look for Sunrise Rotarians wearing “Ask Me About Geraniums” tags, and they will be glad to take your order. Club members must turn in the money for their orders by Tuesday, April 30, to make sure the flowers are ready for delivery before Mother’s Day.
The Sunrise Rotary Club Mother’s Day Geranium Sale was first conceived by former club member Dr. Don Snider in 2010, as a way to introduce himself to his neighbors. When Don Snider passed away in 2013 the club made the Mother’s Day Geranium Sale an official Sunrise Rotary fundraiser. “We have become acquainted with many area neighbors through the years with our geranium sale, both as a fund raiser for our various community service projects, and as a quiet tribute to our good friend and neighbor,” said club president Cindy Boehlke.
Prairieland United Way Partners with Bound to Stay Bound Books Foundation to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to Morgan, Cass, Scott and Greene counties:
Prairieland United Way and Bound to Stay Bound Books to provide monthly books to birth to age five children, at no cost to families.
The Prairieland United Way is proud to announce it is partnering with Bound to Stay Bound Books Foundation and The Dollywood Foundation to provide one book a month to Morgan, Cass, Scott and Greene County children from birth to age five with engaging, high-quality books, delivered directly to their home, at no cost to families. Children taking part will need to be registered by a parent or guardian. There’s no charge to register, and the free books will be mailed directly to children’s homes. Kids will begin receiving books eight to 12 weeks after they’re registered. The first book will be the early 20th century classic “The Little Engine the Could”. The cost will be $26 per registered child to get Imagination Library books for one year, and $130 per registrant to provide all 60 books from the library over five years, the agency said. The cost will be covered half by Bound to Stay Bound Books Foundation and half through the State of Illinois Partnership.
“Bound To Stay Bound Books Foundation is incredibly excited about helping young families thrive, especially during these challenging times, by prompting parents to gather a child into their laps and read a book together. Reading supports early literacy, emotional bonding and opens a child to a world of possibilities, ” said Lori Smith, Vice President & General Manager of Bound to Stay Bound Books.
About Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has become the preeminent early childhood book gifting program in the world. The flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation has mailed well over 100 million free books in Australia, Canada, The Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States. The Imagination Library mails more than 1.4 million high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to registered children from birth to age five. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading, inspiring them to dream. The impact of the program has been widely researched and results suggest positive increases in key early childhood literacy metrics.
About Bound to Stay Bound Books Foundation
Bound To Stay Bound Books Foundation was founded in 1985 as the charitable arm of Bound to Stay Bound Books to provide support to library-related and education-related institutions on the company’s behalf.
About Prairieland United Way
Prairieland United Way advances the common good by focusing on protecting services vital to the immediate basic needs of the most vulnerable members of our community; while making long term investments in education, financial stability, and health, because these are the building blocks for a good quality of life.
For additional information on Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library or how to enroll, please visit https://imaginationlibrary.com or contact Karen Walker at Prairieland United Way, 217-0245-4557 or email karen.walker@prairielandunitedway.org.
2024 National Police Week, 4th-5th grade essay contest:
Who? All elementary school students in Jacksonville and Morgan County grades 4 & 5.
What? An essay titled: “If I were a police officer or sheriff’s deputy, this is what I’d do to keep my community safe.”
When? All essays must be received no later than 4:30PM on Tuesday, April 30th, 2024.
Where? Essays are to be mailed to or dropped off at the Jacksonville Police Department, located on the west side of the Jacksonville Municipal Building at 200 West Douglas in Jacksonville.
Details: Essays are to be typed and printed on plain white copy paper or written legibly in manuscript or cursive in blue or black ink on white lined paper. Essays are to be 250 words or less using no less than three and no more than five paragraphs. Essays will be judged on both content and context: original thinking; practical application; subject specific; correct grammar and spelling.
Two winning essays will be selected, one from Jacksonville and one from Morgan County. Along with each winner’s 1st Place Award Certificate, their teacher and class will be treated to a Pizza Party! Ten additional Runner-up Certificates will be awarded as well. Copies of the selected essays will be submitted to the Source for publication and posted at a designated spot in the Jacksonville Municipal Building for public review during National Police Week, May 12-18, 2024.
WIYC Camp Directors named for 2024:
Jessica Howard and Anna May have been named Camp Directors for the 2024 summer camping season at Western Illinois Youth Camp. They will oversee the summer day camps that will be offered this summer beginning June 3, 2024 on the grounds of the Youth Camp located at Lake Jacksonville.
Jessica Howard is a paraprofessional at Washington Elementary School in Jacksonville. She resides in Jacksonville. Howard said “l love working with kids so why not find a summer job working with kids. Helping children grow as individuals and experience new things is the best part of working with them. I can’t wait to get started.”
Anna May is a graduate of Routt Catholic High School and currently studying to become an occupational therapist at St. Ambrose University. May commented that she has always enjoyed camps of all kinds and that she cannot wait to do everything we can to put smiles on the faces of our campers.
Western Illinois Youth Camp will offer 8 weeks of day camps beginning June 3, 2024. Each week’s camp will have a different theme as well as offering swimming, crafts, archery, hiking and so much more. More details on the camps offered and registration information will be available soon at the Camp’s website, wiyc.net.
Since 1948 Western Illinois Youth Camp has provided outdoor experiences to the young and the young-at-heart.
2024 Rotary Club of Jacksonville Bass Tournament results:
The 24th annual Rotary Club of Jacksonville Bass Tournament was held on Lake Jacksonville on Sunday, April 7. Twenty-nine boats competed in the first buddy tournament of the season. David Knollhoff and Glen Robson won the tournament with a total weight of 19.37 pounds. The Big Bass, caught by Daniel Curless, weighed in at 9.06 pounds.
Rotary president Jenna Tucker said, “The Jacksonville Rotary Club wishes to thank the tournament sponsors and all of the people who competed, as well as the many Rotarian volunteers and the City of Jacksonville Department of Parks and Lakes staff for their assistance with the tournament.”
Tournament co-chair Pete Carteaux said, “We were really happy to again include several high school bass fishing teams in this year’s competition. We hope to continue encouraging more young people to engage in the sport of bass fishing.”
The 2024 results are as follows:
First place ($900): David Knollhoff and Glen Robson of Jacksonville, 19.37 pounds.
Second place ($800): Michael Grejtak of Benld and Gustav Viehweg of Mt. Olive, 15.74 pounds.
Third place ($700): Brandon McQuarrie of Belville and Gary McQuarrie of Shattuc, 12.03 pounds.
Fourth Place ($500): David Hoots Jr. of Auburn and Kerry Malone of Springfield, 10.54 pounds.
Fifth place ($300): Keith Curless of Plymouth and Daniel Curless of Jacksonville, 10.38 pounds.
Sixth Place ($200): Kevin Mathews of Roodhouse and Jim Dietel of Loami, 10.24 pounds.
Seventh Place ($125): Ron Jones of Virginia and Carson Belville of Rushville, 9.86 pounds.
Eighth place ($100): Josh Kyle of Jacksonville and Tony Perkins of Jacksonville, 8.62 pounds.
Big Bass ($580): Daniel Curless of Jacksonville, 9.06 pounds.
About Rotary
Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges. Rotary connects 1.2 million members of more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Their work improves lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. Visit www.jacksonvillerotary.org for more about Rotary.
