2005 Centennial Awards

Arch Bishop Quigley Preparatory School, 1905,
Chicago

Ball Horticultural Company, 1905, Glen Ellyn

 Brethren Home of Girard (Pleasant Hill Village), 1905,
Girard

 Brintlinger and Earl Funeral Homes, 1883,
Maroa

Chicago Defender Publishing Company, 1905,
Chicago

Dominy Memorial Library, 1904, Fairbury

 Dr. John Warner Hospital, 1905, Clinton

 Faber Floral Company, 1870, Chicago

 Farmer’s Elevator Company of Lowder, 1905,
Lowder

 First National Bank of Sullivan, 1905, Sullivan

 Gietl Brothers, Inc., 1904,
Springfield

 Grayslake Times, 1905,
Grayslake

Greenville Public Library, 1905, Greenville

 Illinois College, 1828, Jacksonville

 Illinois Veterans Home Library, 1902, Quincy

 Jacksonville Journal Courier, 1829, Jacksonville

 Naper Central Food Inc., 1893, Naperville

 Produce Reporter Company, 1905, Chicago

 Ridgemoor Country Club, 1905, Chicago

 Rock Island Arsenal Museum, 1905, Rock Island

 The Rotary Club of Chicago, 1905, Chicago

 Rotary International, 1905,
Evanston

 St. Francis Hospital and Health Center, 1905,
Blue Island

St. Mary’s School, 1902,
Pontiac

 St. Rita School, 1905,
Chicago

 Semler Industries, Inc., 1905, Chicago

 Shields Memorial Home, 1898, Greenfield

Twenty-one Illinois corporations and not-for-profit organizations celebrated a century or more of service at the 21st annual Centennial Awards Banquet, held September 30 at the Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago. This year’s banquet, hosted by the Illinois State Historical Society, included three special awards, and featured a performance by Sones de Mexico, a Chicago-based sextet performing traditional songs and dances from Mexico. The 2005 Centennial Award recipients join more than 1,100 businesses who have been likewise honored since 1984.  

A year in the planning, the event began with a social hour in the mezzanine followed by dinner in the elegant Empire Room. Centennial awardees and  their guests dined on filet mignon and grilled chicken breast, along with spectacular side dishes and a chocolate mousse dessert that only the Palmer House kitchen could have prepared.

In addition to this year’s Centennial Award winners, the Society presented special awards to:

On hand to present the Centennial Awards were long-time Centennial supporters Jack Taylor and Pat Brickhouse, with Centennial Award Committee Chair Norman Berger serving as master of ceremonies. 

Since 1984 more than 1,100 Illinois corporations have become Centennial honorees, ranging from the Chicago White Sox and the AMEREN-Corporation to the Auburn Citizen newspaper and Yorkville National Bank. Centennial Award recipients receive a complimentary dinner at the historic Palmer House, a one-year free membership in the Society, and take home a handsome Centennial Award plaque inscribed by the Governor and Society President. use of the Centennial Awards logo is available to all Centennial Award recipients who keep their membership active. 

Corporate contributors to this year's Award Program were: LaSalle Bank, the Edward Fox Studio, Pullman Bank, and the Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home. Individual contributors were Alfred Klairmont, Elaine Egdorf, Scott Lesser, and Norman Berger. 

2005 Centennial Awards Donors