County commissioner to receive Humanitarian Award

Greene County Commissioner Roseann Bentley will be honored next week with the 2011 Humanitarian Award by the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.
 
Bentley will receive the award, now in its 22nd year, during a noon luncheon Dec. 7 at Doubletree Hotel, 2431 N. Glenstone Ave., according to a CFO news release.
 
Bentley was nominated for the honor by Junior League of Springfield, for which she served as its first president 1976–77, the release said. The nomination cited numerous accomplishments for Bentley, including being the first woman to be elected to the Springfield Board of Education and to represent southwest Missouri in the Missouri Senate. She spent eight years as part of the Missouri General Assembly, where she was chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee for two years and served on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
 
Bentley was elected to the Greene County Commission in 2004. She was a founding member of Ozarks Public Television and Female Leaders in Philanthropy, helped launch United Way of the Ozarks’ Day of Caring and also played a role in bringing libraries to all public elementary schools in Springfield, the release said. Bentley also was one of Springfield Business Journal’s 2003 Most Influential Women honorees.
 
The Humanitarian Award was founded in 1990 by Jewell Thompson Schweitzer, a longtime CFO supporter, to honor individuals in the Ozarks who are primarily motivated to serve others. Honorees are chosen by a committee organized by the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

The award comes with a $3,000 cash award, which honorees have traditionally donated to charity, the release said.
 
Previous honorees include Sister Lorraine Biebel of The Kitchen Inc., John Harp of Greene County Foster Program, Doug Pitt of Care to Learn and Bentley’s husband, Dr. John Bentley, in recognition of his efforts to help the medically underserved.
 
Tickets to the luncheon are $20 apiece and are available by contacting CFO.[[In-content Ad]]