Chuck Behrens
By Dan Miller
I first met Chuck in 1979. He and Mark Herzog were making an appeal to a committee to get a grant for the Gifford Park Association. I was there representing another group called the Eastside Neighbors. I had not heard of the Gifford Park Association. The Eastside Neighbors presentation was very demanding and rather shrill in tone. Chuck got up and in his always calm manner made a firm yet tactful appeal for a grant. GPA got a grant and the East Side Neighbors did not. His firm yet tactful manner made such an impression on me that I have made it my method ever since. Every time I make an appeal to a group or City Council I think of Chuck.
Ben used to have to go to all the meetings because Chuck and Audrey did and they did not trust a babysitter. He often sat under a table and colored. Ben was such a great kid. Many kids will talk and run around in such a situation. He never did. He must've been particularly moved by one of the presentations as after it was done he went up to the people and took out a dollar from his pocket to give to their cause. Wow what a kid.
Debora Behrens called me to tell me that Chuck was in the hospital and probably wouldn't come out. I put together a piece talking about is incredible impact on our lives and our neighborhood. I wanted to read it to him before he left. Sadly, I never got a chance. Let this be a lesson to all of us that we need to tell people how much we appreciate them before they're gone not just to their relatives after.
Chuck Behrens, thank you for making a huge difference in our neighborhood and in our lives over the past 40 years. Remember the movie It's a Wonderful Life? George Bailey was shown what his town would look like if he had not been there to make a difference. If Chuck Behrens would not have been here we would not have a Gifford Park Association. If the Gifford Park Association had not existed, we would not have had 37 house walks, we would not have had five problem properties rehabbed, we would not have had 60 architectural salvages, almost a hundred potluck dinners, the Elgin Historic District, the gazebo in the park and numerous other projects and get togethers. All those events build community in our neighborhood and made it a better place to live, all because Chuck and Audrey started the Gifford Park Association.
In 1987 the Chuck and Audrey Behrens award was begun for long standing and exemplary service to the organization. Chuck and Audrey were of course awarded the first one. Twenty-three people have been awarded it since then. It is quite an honor to receive it.