SPRINGFIELD – The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (Commission) will present 14 localities with honors for the 2017 Governor’s Hometown Awards program during a special reception at the Old State Capitol on November 8, 2017 at 2 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 had strong volunteer support, met a need, and made a definitive impact. 
“We are pleased that through the preliminary round of judging, 14 localities have been recognized as either cup finalists or project winners of the program,” said Commission Executive Director Scott McFarland. “It was clear that many communities throughout Illinois have wonderful service projects that use volunteers. Through these awards, we are honored to be able to highlight these projects and the people who gave back.”
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The Commission deemed four of the 14 projects as cup finalists, which are the best projects in each of the four population divisions of the program. These four localities include:
• East St. Louis - “Join Hands Advocacy Project”
• Kewanee - “Step Ladder Tutoring Program”
• Macon County - “WSOY Community Food Drive”
• Waterloo - “Monroe County House of Neighborly Service”
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 8, 2017.
Project winners determined in the preliminary round based on the project category and population division include:
• Charleston - “Lake Charleston Trail System”
• Collinsville - “Hometown Heroes”
• Fairfield - “FNB Field”
• Fulton County - “Canton Gas Explosion”
• Galesburg - “Galesburg Heart & Soul”
• Godfrey - “Beverly Farm Foundation”
• Lanark - “Workation 2016”
• LaSalle County - “LaSalle County Naloxone Program”
• Rock Island - “Kids engaged in Natural Growth (KING)”
• Round Lake Beach (Project Runner Up); “Mobile Eye-VIPS”
All projects honored 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, and the Governor’s Hometown Awards for calendar year 2017 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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