A community organizer, tireless volunteer and leader of southwest Rockford, Antonio Ramirez Jr. on Thursday was named the 2024 Excalibur Award winner recognizing outstanding community service.
Ramirez has spent his adult life working to uplift Rockford, mentor underprivileged youngsters and organize positive events for the Latino community.
The volunteer chairman of the Comprehensive Community Solutions board of directors, Ramirez works as the community education and outreach coordinator at Alignment Rockford. Former roles include YouthBuild, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA of Rock River Valley and co-founder of United at Peace.
Antonio Ramirez Jr. celebrates winning the 2024 Excalibur Award on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2024, at Prairie Street Brewing Company in Rockford.
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The award was presented on Thursday night during a ceremony at the Prairie Street Brewing Co. by the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois in partnership with the Rockford Register Star and the Northern Illinois Center for Nonprofit Excellence.
Ramirez has played a key role in the expansion of the Domingos En El Parque summer concert series. He worked to create the Dia De Los Muertos event at the UW Health Sports Factory at the end of each October. He teamed with the Ethnic Heritage Museum and others to organize the South Main Mercado in June, a market designed to highlight southwest Rockford, its neighborhoods and businesses.
And Ramirez’ community involvement has also included CulturaFest, La Voz Latina and the Coalition of Latino Leaders’ education committee among many others.
The other Excalibur Finalists were Elaine Breck, a co-founder and former volunteer executive director of Rockford Promise, and Kelli Ritschel Boehle, founder and president of the Nikolas Ritschel Foundation, also known as Nik’s Wish.
Jeff Kolkey writes about government, economic development and other issues for the Rockford Register Star. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on X @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford’s Antonio Ramirez Jr. is the 2024 Excalibur Award winner
