01/27/2026
Well Proviso Township, YOU DID IT AGAIN!!!!
And for this...We Say THANK YOU!!! Thank you for your continual support of our mission to UPLIFT and INSPIRE our community, in the Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during these Perilous Times!!!
We at Operation UpLift INC. And It's WEST TOWN Museum of Cultural History would like to Thank All who Participated and Supported our 37th Annual DR. MLK Jr. Celebration and Community Awards Black-Tie Gala sponsored by Credit Union 1 our 2026 Sapphire Sponsor. A Special Thanks to Mr. Todd Gunderson, Mr. Thomas Wells and Mr. Sam Hamilton for your continued partnership at CU1!!!
To our DIAMOND Sponsor State Representative Emanual “Chris” Welch and our new 2026 DIAMOND Sponsors: ComEd/Excelon (Ms. Calandra Davis) and McDonald’s Graham Family Restaurants (Maywood) (Mr. Brian & Yevette Graham); THANK YOU for your continued support and WELCOME ABOARD New Diamonds, MANY THANKS!!!
Congratulations to ALL our Class of 2026 Honorees in ALL categories and a Special Thanks to those who traveled far and near to be with us!!! Marcos “KOSINE” Palacios we appreciate your journey of sunny Los Angeles and your performance and musical contribution to our Programme!!!
We also want to thank our gracious Host and Master of Ceremonies the Rev. Dr. R. Keith Beauchamp of Hope Presbyterian Church & Bethel New Life Church of Wheaton, IL. I’m putting my bid in for your return in 2027 now?!?! LOL
Shouts out to the evening’s phenomenal performances: First, our vocalist Mr. Gregory Parker, you brought tears to the eye of our beloved Congressman. And Conquest THEBAND, Clarence, you guys keep outdoing yourselves!!! Salute to you both!
To our Head Table Guest and participants: Pastor and Lady Abdule Finner, Team Uplift, Dr. Algeanna Griffin, Interim-Superintendent, District 89 (Maywood), Ms. Rosalind Banks, Director of Early Learning Programs, District 88 (Bellwood), Rev. Dr. R. Keith Beauchamp and Daughter Ms. Autumn Beachamp, Missionary Tandra Rutledge, IL State Senate Majority Leader, Kimberly A. Lightford and Mrs. Tanya Bultler-Smith and husband Mr. Thomas Smith, Maywood Library Board; as well as our Special Guest Mr. Michael & Sherice Woodard and Judge Chloe’ G. Pedersen; we cherish your participation!!!
Special Shouts out to the Speaker of the IL House Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch for assisting us in our presentation; and the Honorable Mayors’: Katrina Thompson (Broadview) Nathaniel George Booker (Maywood) and Andre F. Harvey of Bellwood, you are true Dream Weavers in your own right! Thanks for your generous contributions and Continued Support!!! And to Congressman Danny K. Davis, your legacy will always remain a part of the West Town Museum of Cultural History archives. God Bless You Sir in Retirement!!!
Shouts out to DJ Julius “Flash” Terrell, Thomas Finch & Associates for that awesome LED Screen, Art Johnson at Simply Business Desktop Publishing for our awesome Souvenir Book, Ken Lloyd Jr…My Sensational IT Technician from Fly High Tech, Mr. Brewster McCally, my Videographer from ABC Engineering and Super Photographer, Mr. John Alexander can’t roll without YOU ALL!!!
And Last, but certainly not the least, the legs I stand on; TEAM UPLIFT: Our Museum Curator, Mrs. Dorothy Hall, the Volunteer and Guest Presenters, our Awards Table Keepers, the Friends of the Museum Committee, Team Ascension, our Advisory Board and Governing Boards, our 2026 Gala Ushers and Hostesses and All the Volunteers that made this evening special. I appreciate each and every one of you! I COULDN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!!!
Once Again, you RAISED the bar for us next year.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR THE THINGS HE HAS DONE!!!
Yours For Community,
G.E. Stone II, Executive Director
Dorothy L. Hall, West Town Museum Curator
N.H. Stone, President/CEO Emeritus (Posthumous)
Edward Millon, Governing Board Chairman
