When the Bell Tower of Fame Award began, “There were those in our community who thought we would surely run out of people to honor. Surprise! Thanks to the efforts of many nominators, the honorees’ accomplishments have spanned the globe,” says Carole Custer, past chair of the Bell Tower Festival and chair of the selection committee. The award has honored residents from the east and west coasts, from the south to the north, and also from across Greene County.
The 2021 Bell Tower of Fame Award recipient will be chosen from nominations previously submitted and any new nominations submitted by Friday, Feb. 19. The person will join 50+ past winners who, following the guidelines “at some time in their lives, have lived in Greene County and whose personal or professional accomplishments internationally, nationally or statewide bring great pride to Greene County.”
The award started in 1981 when Custer was chair of the Bell Tower Festival. “Frequently we hear about movers and shakers across this nation who have a connection to Greene County. And the very first year of the festival we honored two Greene County native sons, George Gallup of Jefferson, creator of the internationally respected Gallup Poll, and Loren Shriver of Paton, a U.S. astronaut, as the grand marshals of the Bell Tower Festival parade.
“The first two festivals had an “Iowa Pride” theme and the 1981 planning committee wanted to continue annually at the festival honoring someone who, at some time in their life had resided in Greene County, and whose personal or professional accomplishments statewide, nationally or internationally, brought great pride to our county. The committee also wanted the honorees to be terrific examples for what the youth of Greene County can accomplish and the impact they can have as they enter their adult life and over their lifetime.”
So the Bell Tower of Fame Award was born in 1981 and the 1980 festival grand marshals, Gallup and Shriver, were the first two recipients. Del Van Horn of Jefferson, director of the Iowa Development Commission (now named the Iowa Economic Development Authority), was the 1981 winner.
The creator of the National Federation of Wildlife’s Ranger Rick magazine, a member of New York City’s Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, a national leader in ornithology research, the creator of the Iowa Hall of Pride, the president of Medicap Pharmacies, and the CEO of the Iowa Lottery are just a few honorees who have called Greene County home.
Nominations can be submitted anytime, but for consideration this year, the deadline is Friday, Feb. 19, at 4 pm at the Welcome Center, 201 E. Lincoln Way, Jefferson, Iowa 50129. Theymust be submitted on the form that is available at the Welcome Center or online at https://www.jeffersonmatters.org/bell-tower-of-fame-award-nomination-form/
Past nominations are kept on file and are reviewed by the selection committee, which consists of past Bell Tower of Festival chairs. “We encourage nominators to update their nominee’s form if new activities or awards are received that the committee needs to know when reviewing nominations each year,” Custer added.
