2007 Governor's Hometown Award

Viola wins Governor's Home Town Award
By Cathy Decker/Staff Reporter
Published: Tuesday, December 4, 2007 10:17 AM CST

The 2006 Viola Sesquicentennial took first place honors in the general category 1 (communities with a population of 0 - 2,500) at the 2007 Governor's Home Town Awards banquet held Tuesday, Nov. 27 in Springfield. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) administers the Governor's Home Town Awards program, with projects going through a rigorous judging process.

Twenty one individuals from Viola boarded a bus early Tuesday morning, Nov. 27, to head for the awards banquet in Springfield. The afterglow from the previous year's sesquicentennial was evident as the bus traveled more than two hours towards Springfield. Viola already knew it was a winner, but what exactly was won had yet to be learned.

After arrival at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Springfield, Carol Peterson put up the Viola Sesquicentennial display for the more than 500 participants at the banquet to see. There were displays from all 34 Governor's Award winners present that day as well. Others from Viola attending the ceremony were Glen Pope, Ken Brown, Glenn Brown, Robin Redpath, Harold Morrison, Sandy Morrison, Kirk Doonan, Annette Doonan, Linda Brown, Perry Whan, Carol Peterson, Jim Morrison, Jack Carrico, Marilyn Carrico, Tom Mulder, Stew Klink, Bob Millikan, Shirley Jensen, Dick McMeekan and Ramona McMeekan.

The display showed photos from the 2006 sesquicentennial that brought back all the magic of the three-day event. The application process involved listing the need, the process, the volunteer participation and the results. Viola put on a three-day festival that showed the support of the entire village. A cookbook was made with more than 1,000 local recipes. A village history was prepared. The town put on cemetery walks, a kids fishing derby, a pageant and a parade; A softball game with the Viola and Aledo fire departments was the entertainment one evening followed by fireworks. Sunday's big event was a community worship service, complete with a circuit preacher. There was a museum put together at the Viola Village Hall and a quilt show at the local grade school.

For more on this story, see the Dec. 5 issue of The Times Record.