The Abraham Lincoln Council, ScoutingAmerica, recently announced that Dr. Ron Romanelli, M.D., has been selected as the 2024 Trailblazer Award recipient.
The Trailblazer Award was established in 2010 to recognize the area’s most distinguished citizens whose community dedication, hard work, and philanthropy have paved the way for youth to succeed and grow. The Trailblazer Dinner raises important funds to provide life-changing experiences to youth in Central Illinois.
With a strong sense of community and civic duty, Mr. Romanelli is a supporter of Central Illinois and its residents. He is the past President of the Orthopedic Center of Illinois and is a key individual to the transformative growth at the center as well as orthopedic medicine and practice over the past five decades. Dr. Romanelli is a graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine; he went on to do his internship at Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital.
He then went on to complete his residency at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine affiliated hospitals and the Rancho Los Amigos Hospitals in Downey, California. From there he completed his fellowship in Trauma at A/O International Fellowship Lorenz, Bohler, Vienna, Austria and a Fellowship in Reconstructive Surgery at the Orthopedic Clinic of Kantonsspital, St. Gallen Switzerland before being board certified in 1990 and recertified in 1999 and 2009. In 2021, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. This award is presented by the SIU School of Medicine Alumni Society Board of Governors and recognizes alumni who have made outstanding contributions to medicine and distinguished service to mankind. In 2023, the Orthopedic Center of Illinois celebrated 50 years. Dr. Romanelli spends his time giving back through his academic and professional medical orthopedic surgery and trauma lectureships.
The annual Trailblazer Dinner will be held Sept. 12 at Erin’s Pavilion in Southwind Park, Springfield. Through the years, the Trailblazer Dinner has raised more than $700,000 to support the Abraham Lincoln Council. Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available to businesses and individuals online here; https://scoutingevent.com/144-trailblazer
Past Trailblazer recipients include the Bunn Family, Dt. Stephen and Lisa Stone, Geoff Isringhausen, Dr. J. Roland Folse, Sergio "Satch" Pecori, Dick Levi, Dr. Naomi Lynn, Dr. Richard Moy, Evelyn Brandt Thomas, James Dove, Dan O’Brien, Julie Staley, Mike O’Shea and George Preckwinkle Jr.