Kelly honored as Du Quoin Citizen of the Year
DU QUOIN - The awards are beginning to stockpile for Du Quoin School Superintendent, Dr. Gary Kelly.
Fresh off being named Superintendent of the Year for 2018-19 by the Illinois State Board of Education, Kelly was saluted locally Wednesday as the Du Quoin Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year. He received his plaque of appreciation from Tim Leake at the chamber's annual dinner celebration, held at the American Legion.
Kelly has served Du Quoin District 300 for 26 years, 23 of which as the superintendent, and will retire at the conclusion of this current school year. He has also been quite active in the community, serving on the Chamber of Commerce, Lions Club, Khoury League and Christopher Rural Health (Rea) Clinic board.
"Being selected most outstanding citizen by the Chamber of Commerce is quite an honor and one that I share with many people," Kelly said, referencing his family, co-workers, chamber members and community residents. "It's a blessing to think that I may have had an impact on young people."
Kelly said he comes from a long line of family members who believe strongly in serving the community.
"I believe you have to be involved to make a difference," Kelly said. "I always felt it was part of my job to give back to a community that has been so good to me. And I can't thank my wife and children enough who understood the work that I did and knew that I was trying to make a difference in this school district. Du Quoin has been a blessing to me. I hope that I have done my best to be a blessing to others."
Kelly may have earned the biggest prize of the evening, but others were recognized by the Du Quoin Chamber of Commerce for their hard work and community involvement this past year at Wednesday's dinner,
Jared and Tricia Kremer, owners of Kremer Plumbing, were named Emerging Business of the Year, while General Cable was selected as Business of the Year. Plant manager Erik Perks accepted a plaque from Robyn Russell on behalf of the company and said he looked forward to sharing the award with employees there.
Jessica Holder, co-owner of Eclipse Insurance, was the recipient of the President's Award as doled out by Chip Banks.
Banks also complimented Du Quoin Chamber Executive Director Stacy Hirsch for all the work that she put into planning the annual dinner celebration.
"Things went very well," Hirsch said. "The award winners were very deserving. All are people who have given back to the people of Du Quoin. They make Du Quoin a better place."