ORANGEVILLE - John Buford is the recipient of the 2009 Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award presented by the Illinois Humanities Council. The IHC invited Orangeville Village President Don Hoyle to nominate "an individual who has made a sustained and significant contribution to furthering public understanding of the humanities in their community." The award is named after the prize-winning oral historian and author, Studs Terkel, who documented 20th century America through the words and voices of ordinary people.
Recipients are selected for their service in the humanities, which include significant and sustained efforts to further public understanding of, and appreciation for, the humanities at the community level. Buford is one of 44 recipients this year from across the state.
Buford set about organizing the Sesquicentennial held in conjunction with the annual Firemen's Festival in 2001. In the past decade, he has successfully nominated five village residential and commercial buildings for the National Register of Historic Places, and he has been a member of the Illinois Historic State Advisory Council for the past three years.
His "outside the box" ideas have found new uses that breathe life back into old buildings. In conjunction with the Sesquicentennial, he organized a cemetery walk and published a walking tour. Buford continues to promote the humanities and the arts in the area through collaboration with area community theaters to bring more shows to the small communities.
Hoyle will present the engraved bronze medal to Buford prior to the 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 performance of the Christmas Madrigal Dinner at Orangeville High School. For information on the Madrigal Dinner call (815) 819-1310 or visit www.mightyrichlandplayers.com. For information on the Illinois Humanities Council and the Studs Terkel Award, visit www.prair-ie.org/studsterkelaward.
Recipients are selected for their service in the humanities, which include significant and sustained efforts to further public understanding of, and appreciation for, the humanities at the community level. Buford is one of 44 recipients this year from across the state.
Buford set about organizing the Sesquicentennial held in conjunction with the annual Firemen's Festival in 2001. In the past decade, he has successfully nominated five village residential and commercial buildings for the National Register of Historic Places, and he has been a member of the Illinois Historic State Advisory Council for the past three years.
His "outside the box" ideas have found new uses that breathe life back into old buildings. In conjunction with the Sesquicentennial, he organized a cemetery walk and published a walking tour. Buford continues to promote the humanities and the arts in the area through collaboration with area community theaters to bring more shows to the small communities.
Hoyle will present the engraved bronze medal to Buford prior to the 6:30 p.m. Dec. 5 performance of the Christmas Madrigal Dinner at Orangeville High School. For information on the Madrigal Dinner call (815) 819-1310 or visit www.mightyrichlandplayers.com. For information on the Illinois Humanities Council and the Studs Terkel Award, visit www.prair-ie.org/studsterkelaward.
