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May 20, 2010
League Awards Marge Gockel Lifetime
Achievement Award
Oak Park, IL – The League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest has awarded Marge Gockel its annual lifetime achievement award. The Hazel Hanson Award is given each year to a League member who has given considerable time and energy to the organization and the community, and is the highest honor the League can bestow. Among Marge’s many accomplishments, she was an integral part of the push to establish a Farmers Market in Oak Park in the 1970’s. Thirty-five years later, the market is still a popular event Saturday mornings in the summer. A long-time Oak Park resident, Marge has been extremely active in the community, winning several local awards.
Marge has served for several years now as a League Board member, Co-Chair of the League’s Observers Corp, and Co-Chair of Second Tuesdays (the League’s monthly discussion series) and much more. She also continues to be an observer of the Oak Park Township Board. The League is proud to have Marge as an actively involved member, and we congratulate her on all her achievements.
She will be awarded the Hazel Hanson Award during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 1st at 7:00pm at Julian Middle School.
About Marge Gockel
Marjorie “Marge” Gockel grew up in a small town, Lapeer, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955 and began teaching junior high in San Diego, California. While in San Diego, she met Galen Gockel at a mixer. They married in 1957 and moved to the Chicago area so Galen could attend graduate school at the University of Chicago.
Marge’s lasting and signature accomplishment that has made its mark in Oak Park history and on the community is the Farmers Market. 2010 marks the 35-year anniversary for the market. Marge and her friend, Carla Lind, were determined to bring a farmers market to Oak Park. They tirelessly and effectively lobbied Village Trustees and finally convinced them that the market was a good thing for the community. Carla was appointed the first Chair of the new Farmers Market Commission, and Marge was her successor.
They faced serious challenges, primarily where to locate the market. Marge successfully led the charge as Chair of the Commission to bring the market to Pilgrim Church’s lot, where it now has a thriving and lasting partnership with the market. Marge also successfully negotiated the challenges of finding the growers. The first market had just one grower–they called it the “farmer” market - now it has 35. Marge still regularly volunteers there on Saturday mornings. In 2005, the Chicago Tribune awarded her and Carla the Good Eating Award for “making a difference in the Chicago food and beverage world through their passion, vision and commitment to quality”.
Marge did not stop her activism. She was also a member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and served on that board for two terms. Her service earned her the Trust’s Wallis Austin Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2005. In 2009 she and Galen were the recipients of the Outstanding Community Leadership award by Concordia University.
About the League
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
Oak Park, IL – The League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest has awarded Marge Gockel its annual lifetime achievement award. The Hazel Hanson Award is given each year to a League member who has given considerable time and energy to the organization and the community, and is the highest honor the League can bestow. Among Marge’s many accomplishments, she was an integral part of the push to establish a Farmers Market in Oak Park in the 1970’s. Thirty-five years later, the market is still a popular event Saturday mornings in the summer. A long-time Oak Park resident, Marge has been extremely active in the community, winning several local awards.
Marge has served for several years now as a League Board member, Co-Chair of the League’s Observers Corp, and Co-Chair of Second Tuesdays (the League’s monthly discussion series) and much more. She also continues to be an observer of the Oak Park Township Board. The League is proud to have Marge as an actively involved member, and we congratulate her on all her achievements.
She will be awarded the Hazel Hanson Award during a ceremony on Tuesday, June 1st at 7:00pm at Julian Middle School.
About Marge Gockel
Marjorie “Marge” Gockel grew up in a small town, Lapeer, Michigan. She graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955 and began teaching junior high in San Diego, California. While in San Diego, she met Galen Gockel at a mixer. They married in 1957 and moved to the Chicago area so Galen could attend graduate school at the University of Chicago.
Marge’s lasting and signature accomplishment that has made its mark in Oak Park history and on the community is the Farmers Market. 2010 marks the 35-year anniversary for the market. Marge and her friend, Carla Lind, were determined to bring a farmers market to Oak Park. They tirelessly and effectively lobbied Village Trustees and finally convinced them that the market was a good thing for the community. Carla was appointed the first Chair of the new Farmers Market Commission, and Marge was her successor.
They faced serious challenges, primarily where to locate the market. Marge successfully led the charge as Chair of the Commission to bring the market to Pilgrim Church’s lot, where it now has a thriving and lasting partnership with the market. Marge also successfully negotiated the challenges of finding the growers. The first market had just one grower–they called it the “farmer” market - now it has 35. Marge still regularly volunteers there on Saturday mornings. In 2005, the Chicago Tribune awarded her and Carla the Good Eating Award for “making a difference in the Chicago food and beverage world through their passion, vision and commitment to quality”.
Marge did not stop her activism. She was also a member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust and served on that board for two terms. Her service earned her the Trust’s Wallis Austin Outstanding Volunteer Award in 2005. In 2009 she and Galen were the recipients of the Outstanding Community Leadership award by Concordia University.
About the League
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
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published by Suburban Journals of Chicago Inc.