This week the City of Elgin Image Commission honored two outstanding individuals - Dr. Joseph Tefft and architect William Wright Abell - with the 2012 Elgin Recognition Award. The award seek to recognize those individuals with a connection to Elgin who have attained lo-cal, regional or national prominence. These awards are presented posthumously to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the city. The commission honors individuals in the categories of Architecture, Communications, Education, The Arts, Science/Medicine, Mili-tary/Government/Public Service, Volunteerism and Business.

2012 recipients of the posthumous award are:

Dr. Joseph Tefft
Dr. Joseph Tefft was Elgin's pioneer physician. His old gray horse was a welcome sight to the early settlers plagued by fevers and dysentery. Tefft served as township supervisor in 1853 and 1857. During the Civil War, he was the examining surgeon of the 141st Illinois Volunteer Infan-try and surgeon of the post while the… Full Story

(Elgin, IL November 30, 2012) Judson University President William Crothers has announced the appointment of Wilbert J. Friesen as the permanent Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Judson University effective December 1, 2012. Dr. Friesen has been serving as Acting Provost since July 1. This appointment comes with the unanimous support of the President’s Advisory Committee, a faculty elected committee to advise the President, the four school Deans, and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees.
Dr. Friesen provides executive leadership for academic affairs, student development, and athletics and has provided exceptional service leading much of the transformation of Judson University in recent months.

Dr. Friesen has extensive experience in higher education leadership as well as teaching. He was on the faculty and in various academic leadership positions at Fresno Pacific University in California for more than 16 years followed by service at Malone University in Ohio… Full Story

The community is invited to a College Education Fair in the Heritage Ballroom at the Centre of Elgin on Thursday, November 29th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event is a cooperative effort between the City of Elgin Human Resources Department and, Resources for the Education of Adults in the Chicago Area or REACh. There is no charge for admission.

The purpose of the event is to provide information to residents who are interested in pursuing a college degree for the first time, or furthering their education to acquire new job skills. Represen-tatives from sixteen different area colleges and universities will be there to talk to explain their programs, provide guidance and advice on the application process.

The City of Elgin has partnered with REACh to provide this as a resource to help the many resi-dents who are currently unemployed or underemployed. "We see this as… Full Story