One-man welcome center honored as Dixon's Citizen of the Year

DIXON – John Groshans works to turn the clock back each day, to keep the riverfront looking like it did when it opened 7 years ago.

He has been called the city’s one-man welcome center, its hardest worker, its riverfront ambassador.

Citizen of the Year was added to that list at Wednesday’s 4 Under 40 and Citizen of the Year event, sponsored by the Dixon Area Chamber of Commerce and The Telegraph.

“I’ve talked to so many different people who have come through our community and talked about this greeter on the riverfront, the greatest ambassador Dixon could ever ask for or look for,” Police Chief Danny Langloss said shortly before revealing Groshans’ award at the ceremony at Timber Creek Golf Club.

Meanwhile, Groshans was sitting with his wife of 54 years, LaDonna, and starting to suspect he was invited to the event for more than just cocktails, dinner and good company.

Maintenance on the riverfront could easily take the efforts of a full-time staff of six to eight workers to accomplish, Langloss said.

“Instead, it takes one person.”

The 72-year-old took on the volunteer role of maintenance coordinator for the riverfront on Aug. 14, 2009, with a single goal that renews itself each day.

“My big purpose is to never let the riverfront grow old, to keep it looking new each and every day,” he said.

He attributes his passion to wanting to give back to the community that supported him for more than 4 decades when he owned and operated Sauk Valley Cleaners.

He takes pride in his daily tasks, whether it’s scooping up fountain change to give to children to buy lunch or sprucing up the area for wedding parties, or festivals that attract thousands.

“All the riverfront is is concrete, flowers and trees,” he said. “It’s the people using it that make it wonderful.”

Groshans was the first Citizen of the Year honored after a 3-year hiatus; Langloss was the last recipient in 2013.

This year’s event included a new round of awards honoring four individuals younger than 40 for their career achievements and impact on the community.

The 4 Under 40 recipients were Andrew Brockwell, Chad Weigle, Darla Foulker and Kayla Halfacre.

Brockwell, a service manager at Ken Nelson Auto Group, has been a member of the Petunia Festival Board for a decade and was festival president in 2013 and 2014. He has been involved with Dixon Main Street for 11 years and was named Main Street Volunteer of the Year in 2011.

Weigle, a Dixon native and financial adviser at Edward Jones, is on the KSB Hospital Board of Directors, the Lee County Industrial Development Council Board, and is a volunteer coach for various youth programs. He is also a past president of the Dixon Rotary Club and has been a board member of the United Way of Lee County and the chamber.

Foulker, an attorney at Ehrmann Gehlbach Badger Lee & Considine, is co-president of the Open Sesame Children’s Learning Centers and a United Way board member. She also coaches cheerleading for Northern Illinois Youth Tackle Football and coaches soccer for the Dixon Family YMCA.

Halfacre became part-owner and operator of Culver’s last year and is one of the corporation’s youngest franchisees. She is on the chamber board, is a member of the Kiwanis Club and a committee member for United Way’s Day of Caring.