RIP Kenneth A. Buel, 1935 - 2023
Ken's extensive involvement with Rotary International began when he was asked to join Moline Rotary in 1967. Ken served as Moline Rotary Club President in 1971. He also Kankakee Rotary in 1979 and Collinsville Rotary in 2001. Most recently a member of Champaign Rotary, he had been a Rotarian for 56 years. Ken served as Governor of Rotary District 6460 (western Illinois) in 1997-98. He was a Rotary Foundation Major Donor and had received the organization's Citation for Meritorious Service. The Buels hosted visitors from over a dozen countries in their homes as part of various Rotary programs. Ken attended 16 Rotary International conventions in Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America in addition to the U.S. He served as the district 6460 delegate to the R.I. Councils on Legislation in 2007 and 2010. He led a Rotary Group Study Exchange team which spent a month in South Korea in 1994 and represented the president of Rotary International at a district conference in Tucson, Arizona, in 2002. He was a recipient of Rotary International's highest individual recognition, the Service Above Self award in 2017, as well as the Avenues of Service Citation in 2016 recognizing his activities in Rotary's Five Avenues of Service over the decades.