The Abraham Lincoln Council, Boy Scouts of America announced that the President of Ace Hardware, George Preckwinkle, has been selected as the 2023 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, Preckwinkle is a supporter of Local First Springfield, the local Boy Scout Council and is currently a Trustee with Blackburn College. He has served in the past as President of Memorial Medical Center Foundation, President of the Y.M.C.A., President of the Executive Board of the Abraham Lincoln Boy Scout Council and as Campaign Chair for United Way. Strongly rooted in the Sangamon County community, Mr. Preckwinkle has also been involved with the Friends of Sangamon Auditorium, Children's Miracle Network, SPARC, American Lung Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and the Chamber of Commerce. He is an avid sailor and an Eagle Scout.
Preckwinkle is the President of Ace Hardware Stores in Springfield, overseeing the operation of 13 stores of a company employing about 250 people throughout Central Illinois. A Springfield native, he is a graduate of Springfield High School, Southern Methodist University and Southern Methodist University Law School. He has served on the Sangamon County Board for many years, currently representing District 25; including two terms as Vice President of Finance and is a Past President of the Abraham Lincoln Council board. In the community, he has been active with many community charities. He and his wife, Lynda, love travel adventures.
The annual Trailblazer Dinner will be held Sept. 14 at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, downtown Springfield. Through the years, the Trailblazer Dinner has raised more than $400,000 to support the Abraham Lincoln Council. Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are available to businesses and individuals online.
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 and Mike O’Shea.
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