BLOOMINGTON — Three Bloomington residents and one Pontiac resident were named Philanthropists of the Years by the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation.
Those residents include Alan and Kathie Chapman, and Tony Jones of Bloomington; and Marlon Eilts of Pontiac. They will be honored during the Philanthropy Lunch at noon Thursday, Nov. 9, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, 10 Brickyard Drive, Bloomington. IPCF will also be celebrating its 25th anniversary during the event.
The criteria for Philanthropists of the Year include outstanding civic responsibility through philanthropic efforts; serving in leadership roles, providing vision and the ability to involve others in philanthropic activity; and voluntary commitment of time and contributions of financial resources. Current IPCF board members and staff are not eligible to be nominated.
Kathie Chapman was a longtime elementary school teacher in Normal. Alan Chapman began his career as a teacher and later became superintendent of McLean County Unit 5. The Chapmans have been involved in various boards and committees at Illinois State University’s Alumni Association and Athletics, First Christian Church of Bloomington, Normal Rotary Club and the Bloomington-Normal Junior Woman’s Club.
The couple also co-founded Tee It Up for the Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disorders in honor of their grandson Max, who suffers from the disorder. The golf outing has raised more than $1.2 million in eight years.
Jones has served as a key organizer for several community events, including Bloomington-Normal’s Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Banquet, the annual Juneteenth Celebration and the Bloomington-Normal Cultural Fest.
He has created many public forums featuring minority-owned businesses and community events in Central Illinois. He co-founded the Mentoring and Providing Scholarship program, or MAPS, which provides high school seniors with information they need to be successful in college, as well as scholarships to help them pursue a college education. Jones had a 36-year career in the computer science industry, but recently left retirement to work as a manager at Heartland Community College’s Workforce Equity Initiative.
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Eilts became a Country Financial agent in 2005 and has consistently used his personal and agency resources to give back to the Pontiac community. He has sponsored several events, including the Pontiac Thresherman’s Parade, and founded the City of Pontiac Family Fun Days. He is a member of the Pontiac Rotary Club. He and his wife, Stacy, have sponsored and hosted three foreign exchange students at Pontiac High School through Rotary.
Eilts also founded the Happy Hedgehog Business Incubator, a micro-kickstart company to encourage local entrepreneurs. The company is home to the Phantoms traveling baseball team, the Break Room and Lola’s Filipino Cooking.
Tickets to the Philanthropy Luncheon are $40 per person. A morning workshop titled “Preserve and Persevere: Celebrating Our History” will be held from from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. for staff, board members and nonprofit volunteers. The workshop costs $30 per person.
Visit ilprairiecf.org/local-philanthropy or ipcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/list/ticket to register and for more information. The registration deadline is Friday, Nov. 3.
Owner Anna Hoerner talks about her restaurant, Lola’s Homestyle Filipino Cooking in Pontiac.
Photos from the Women to Women Giving Circle Summer Lunch
Retired Judge Beth Robb introducing Judge Amy McFarland
Barb Hummel, Pat Grogg, Sharon Tarvin
Charlotte Talkington, Margaret Ann Hayden
Karen Bersche, Barb Meek
Kara Alt, Vera Traver, Amy Coon
Joan Vanden Eynden, Jan Wohlwend
Lynda Lane, Fran Brandau
Sandra Harmon, Laura Kowalczyk
Kyleigh Airo, Amy Roser
Great conversation
Diana Hauman, Sonja Reece, Karen Hanson
More than 40 women attended
Karen Major, Laura Beavers
Donna Nickels, Mary Anne Schierman, Sally Pyne
Judge Amy McFarland
Retired Judge Beth Robb
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