Lochhead named Citizen of the Year
<p dir="ltr"><span>Choking back a few tears on Friday at the Chester Country Club, Mike Lochhead graciously accepted the plaque and acknowledgement that comes with being the Chester Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Lochhead was heralded for his career with the Chester Fire Department, as the public address announcer at Chester High School's Colbert Gymnasium and volunteerism with many organizations in the city.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Our recipient honors his family every day as he carries out his daily duties as a business owner, a family business that literally means the world to him," said Chester Chamber of Commerce Vice President Gwendy Garner, who presented the award. "It was begun by his grandfather, and our recipient feels strongly about carrying on as his grandfather would want, with ethics and commitment to the public."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>At times, Lochhead struggled to describe his feelings as the emotion of the moment overcame him.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"I love my hometown, I love my family," Lochhead said. "I don't own Lochhead's Service Station per se.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"My name's on the title, I pay the taxes, but I work for grandpa yet to this day. When I retire, that's the day that I quit working for grandpa."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Lochhead joined the CFD in 1980, taking his first fire call on January 1, 1981. He became fire chief in 2002, serving 11 years in that position.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Lochhead retired from the CFD on April 30, 2013 after 33 years of service and thanked his wife, Susie, for her support during those years.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Every one of them fire calls I ever went to, when I left the house, she would have the door open, the garage open and the last word she would ever say to me was 'be careful,'" Lochhead said. "She probably didn't know that I heard it every time that she said it."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Lochhead referred to the Citizen of the Year award as "the best that it gets."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Everybody in here, I know them, I love you all," Lochhead said. "My mother taught me to love everybody.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"Thank you for this."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Chester Mayor Tom Page also used the occasion to publicly thank retired City Clerk Nancy Eggemeyer for her years of service with the city, as well as recognize all the city officials in attendance.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"This group of people, the council, (city attorney) Jeff (Kerkhover), (city clerk) Bethany (Berner) are the best and I appreciate what you do," Page said. "We don't always agree, but I appreciate what you do."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Eggemeyer retired at the end of last year after 34 years with the City of Chester. She was presented with a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine by Page.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>"The city clerk and the mayor have a special bond and Nancy took me under her wing as a new mayor three and a half years ago," Page said. "We couldn't let this meeting go through without special recognition to Nancy."</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>The dinner was also attended by Republican Paul Schimpf (of Waterloo) and Democrat Sheila Simon (of Carbondale), who are battling it out for retiring State Sen. Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville)'s 58th District seat in the November general election.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Luechtefeld has previously publicly endorsed Schimpf and the two candidates were spotted conversing prior to Friday's dinner.</span>
<p dir="ltr"><span>Illinois' 58th District encompasses the entirety of Jefferson, Monroe, Perry and Randolph counties, as well as parts of Jackson, St. Clair, Union and Washington counties.</span>