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Greg Koos receives lifetime achievement award from state historical society

Greg Koos
Greg Koos will be honored by the state historical society at a luncheon April 29 in Springfield.

The Illinois State Historical Society is giving a lifetime achievement award to a McLean County man.

Greg Koos is the retired director of the McLean County Museum of History. The society said Koos has written widely on the material culture of American buildings, Irish American history, and museum and community relations. His most recent book is "Freedom, Land, and Community: a History of Mclean County 1730-1900." He's a published author both in the U.S. and Ireland.

Koos worked to develop and sustain the nationally accredited museum. He led a capital campaign that raised $5.1 million for the museum and its endowment. The money renewed museum operations, paid for construction of five long-term interpretive exhibits, and significantly developed the museum's digital capacities.

He served in the museum from 1977 to 2016 and again as interim director in 2019.

He led the 1989 project to convert the Old McLean County Courthouse into a museum. This $2.4 million project won the American Association of State and Local History’s highest award in 1992.

Koos will be honored by the state historical society at a luncheon April 29 in Springfield. 28 other nominees will be honored and awarded by the society at the event.

WGLT Senior Reporter Charlie Schlenker has spent more than three award-winning decades in radio. He lives in Normal with his family.
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