Mayor Daley and the City of Chicago will recognize 86 senior citizens – including three from Austin – at at this year’s Senior Hall of Fame Awards. The award winners will be honored at a luncheon Saturday for making Chicago a better place to live, work and play.
Willie Ferba, 83, from the 29th Ward, and Esther Williams, 63, and George McKinley, 71, from the 37th Ward, will be recognized for their community service and activism on the West Side.
Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) said Chicago is a city that cherishes and relies on the volunteer efforts of its seniors.
“I appreciate the fact that older Chicagoans are a fabulous resource as volunteers and committed neighborhood activists, and I am both humbled and proud that I am blessed with two exceptional senior leaders in my ward,” she said.
Williams has been a resident of Austin since 1971 and McKinley since 1977.
“These two outstanding seniors – Mrs. Williams and Mr. McKinley – deserve recognition for the contributions they have made to the Austin community through a variety of civic activities and volunteerism,” she said.
Esther Williams
Williams, a West Side block club president for the past two years, said she’s honored to be nominated.
“It means a great deal to me; it shows I have done a job well done. I have been involved in a lot of community activities for such a long time, and I wouldn’t change a thing,” she said. “I have spent much of my life in Austin, and I just love the mix-up of people in the community. It is so multi-cultural, and I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
She has served as a secretary for the Mid-Austin Steering Committee and the 15th District Police Steering Committee task force for nearly 10 years. She also serves as Mayor Daley’s Summer Youth supervisor and has been for 15 years a parent volunteer and then Local School Council president of John Hay School.
Mitts said Williams rarely misses a 37th Ward Democratic Organization meeting, and is always up for taking on another task and helping the residents of Austin in any way she can.
“I have volunteered for over 25 years and am proud of the positive things that are going on in the Austin community,” she said. “There is a big misconception about Austin – that we aren’t united – but we are. I want to continue to be a part of the positives, and keep this community beautiful and clean.”
George McKinley
The alderman described McKinley, also of the 37th Ward, as a “family man, neighbor, friend and dapper senior who is kind-hearted and generous.”
He serves as president of the 25th Police District Men’s Club and as a block club president, as well as an active member of Prince of Peace Baptist Church.
“I have lived here for 33 years, and I couldn’t think of a better place to live and raise my family,” McKinley said. “I do a lot of community work, I like to be involved and help to keep the streets of my neighborhood safe, and it means a great deal to me to be honored. It gives me some kind of reward for the work I have been doing for the community.”
McKinley, an award-winning 25th District CAPS beat facilitator for the Chicago Police Department, has also received recognition from the president for his volunteer service in the federal VISTA program.
Mitts said McKinley runs a “tight-ship” and makes sure the streets are safe.
“I want to give back, and I like to be involved to make sure these young people are safe and engaging in positive activities,” McKinley said. “I really enjoy the people in Austin and the Austin community. It is a nice neighborhood that is not as bad as people portray it..”
Willie Ferba
Ferba, who’s lived in Austin since 1985, said he enjoys the community and the friendliness of everyone on his block.
“There are some very genuine and kind people in Austin, and I enjoy spending my time out in the community lending a helping hand,” he said. “Austin is a great community, with great residents who care a lot about the neighborhood, and I am happy to help out where I can.”
Ald. Deborah Graham (29th) said Ferba is a model citizen in the 29th Ward, and is constantly going above and beyond to help his neighbors and make the community a safer place to live and work.
“He is fearless. He loves his neighborhood, his block, and he is encouraging everyone young and old to get out and get involved in positive activities,” she said. “The model in which he uses for his block here is just awesome; he runs anybody off who is standing on the corner and makes sure his neighbors and the youth on his block are safe.”
A member of the 25th District Men’s Club, a group of men who drive around the 25th District and encourage young men to get off the streets, Ferba has held cookouts and spent many days walking his neighborhood, talking with the youth of Austin.
Ferba said he’s honored to be receiving such an award and that it’s a great feeling to know that someone has noticed the work he’s doing in the community. He is a block club president, CAPS member and an ideal “community man,” Graham said.
Without the work of the 86 seniors be honored this weekend at the 43rd annual awards banquet, the alderman said Chicago wouldn’t be what it is today.
“This city has been founded on the hard work and dedication of the seniors,” Graham said. “This is their day, and myself along with the City of Chicago are thankful for their efforts throughout the years.”
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