The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce has named Mary Beth O'Reilly its 2012 Springfieldian.
O'Reilly, founder and chairwoman of the Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, received the Springfieldian Award during the chamber's annual meeting, held Jan. 27 at the University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.
O'Reilly, herself a breast cancer and lung cancer survivor,
established the foundation in 1999, after her friend, Kristen O’Brien Hardy, died from breast cancer at age 31.
Since then, the foundation has aided more than 1,000 families in providing breast cancer resources and support, BFCO Executive Director Crystal Webster said in a news release.
“Mary Beth is passionate about making sure that the steps that are put in place now, go on to meet the needs of patients in the future," Webster said in the release.
O'Reilly, a longtime health care professional and advocate, also has worked as coordinator of community resources for Oxford Home Health Care, a physician assistant and a pediatrics instructor at St. John’s School of Nursing in Springfield.
She also is a past board member of the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, which previously named her Humanitarian of the Year, and was selected among Springfield Business Journal's 2002 class of Women in Business, now know as Most Influential Women.
“She’s got such a strong willpower and passion to do what she can each and every day to help others,” said Rob Fulp, chairman and CEO of Springfield First Community Bank and a board member of BCFO, in the release. “I truly believe Mary Beth has been put on this earth to help others, and she’s doing just that.”
The chamber's Springfieldian Award is presented to individuals for significant community service, excellence in the person's chosen profession and dedication to improving the Springfield-area quality of life, the release said.
Past honorees:
1957 – Durward G. Hall
1958 – Ed Baxter
1959 – Eugene F. Johnson
1960 – Lester E. Cox
1961 – G. Pearson Ward
1962 – Max Van Hook
1963 – E. L. Anderson
1964 – Thomas H. Baird Jr.
1965 – E. A. Martin Jr.
1966 – J.H.G. Cooper
1967 – James A. Jeffries Sr.
1968 – Flavius Freeman
1969 – Don C. Dailey
1970 – G. Frank Knox
1971 – William E. Everheart
1972 – Dr. L.E. Meador
1973 – Del E. Caywood
1974 – Thomas F. Zimmerman
1975 – Dr. Joe Kuklenski Jr.
1976 – James F. Payne
1977 – James K. Cook
1978 – John K. Hulston
1979 – William V. Turner
1980 – John Q. Hammons
1981 – Lester L. Cox
1982 – C. Arch Bay
1983 – Ralph Foster
1984 – Bill Henderson
1985 – Gene Everett
1986 – Lee McLean
1987 – Don Wessel
1988 – Ed Deck
1989 – Dr. John E. Moore Jr.
1990 – Rev. Dorsey E. Levell
1991 – Ray F. Aton
1992 – Mary Kay Meek
1993 – Michael J. Williamson
1994 – Chris W. Nattinger
1995 – Robert E. Roundtree
1996 – Ben A. Parnell
1997 – Charlie O’Reilly
1998 – Jan Horton
1999 – Kenneth L. Carter
2000 – Jack Stack
2001 – John L. Morris
2002 – Tom Finnie
2003 – Roseann Bentley
2004 – Dr. Robert Spence
2005 – Jim Anderson
2006 – Ralph K. Manley
2007 – Kenneth E. Meyer
2008 – Annie Busch
2009 – Bill Foster
2010 – Brian Fogle
2011 – William H. Darr[[In-content Ad]]
