Honoree: Junior League of Peoria
Motto: “Women building better communities”
The Peoria Historical Society has selected the Junior League of Peoria as the recipient of the 2015 Henri de Tonti Award for Outstanding Principled Community Leadership. The Henri de Tonti Award, established in 2012, promotes recognition of the French explorer and trader who established the first trading outpost on the shores of Lake Pimiteoui in 1691. Previous recipients include Caterpillar Inc., State Senator Dave Koehler, and Ray LaHood, former congressman and secretary of transportation.
“The League has a legacy of advocating and training its members to become active leaders in their communities,” states Mark Johnson, past president of the Historical Society and chairperson of the de Tonti Award Celebration Committee. “Countless organizations in the Peoria area have benefited from the leadership talents and skills of members of the Junior League of Peoria.”
Since its founding in 1936, the Junior League of Peoria has contributed hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours and dollars to the community through more than 70 projects designed to address a variety of needs. Some of the most significant include the long-running JULEPS Closet rummage sale, Family House, the Tri-Centennial Playground at Glen Oak Park, the initiation and development of Race for the Cure, and most recently, the Peoria PlayHouse Children’s Museum.
The de Tonti Award will be presented at a celebration ceremony on Saturday, September 26th, commencing at 6pm in the ballroom of the Peoria Civic Center. Carol Scott, president-elect of the Association of Junior Leagues International, Inc., will be the keynote speaker. For reservations, sponsorship opportunities or more information, call the Historical Society at (309) 674-1921.iBi
