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(From left) Joseph Murphy, chairman of Moraine Valley’s board of trustees; Congressman Dan Lipinski; John Coleman, vice chairman of Moraine Valley’s board of trustees and a recipient of the congressman’s Senior Citizen of the Year Award; and Dr. Sylvia Jenkins, Moraine Valley president display Coleman’s award at a breakfast ceremony on Dec. 12.

Moraine Valley Community College board of trustee vice chairman John Coleman, of Burbank, received a Senior Citizen of the Year Award from Congressman Dan Lipinski at a breakfast award ceremony on Dec. 12. He was one of 10 senior citizens to receive this honor.

Coleman has been a member of the Moraine Valley board of trustees since 2011 and has served as the vice chairman for the 2016-17 academic year. In this role, he is the college’s representative to the Illinois Community College Trustees Association. He also sits on the college’s Foundation board of directors.

“To say John is involved and civic-minded is an understatement,” said Dr. Sylvia Jenkins, Moraine Valley president. “He is a businessman, role model, volunteer, board member, husband, and father, among many other things, and he does it all with a positive attitude and driving commitment to improving other people’s lives. He can be depended on to be present when tough decisions need to be made and when it’s time to celebrate students or employees.”

Outside of Moraine Valley, Coleman is the secretary on the board of directors for the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired. And, for the last 35 years, Coleman has been an active member of the Burbank Lions Club, where he has served in many capacities on the local, region and state levels, including club president, district governor, MD-1 council secretary, and state membership chairman.

Coleman is a Lions of Illinois Foundation Fellow and a Progressive Melvin Jones Fellow. He has received 27 MD-1 District Appreciation Awards, the Ted Watts Extension Award, the Lions of Illinois Train the Trainer Award, and four Lions of Illinois Membership Chairman Awards.

“John brings a level head, a wealth of knowledge and experience, and a big heart to everything he does,” Dr. Jenkins said. “Our communities are only as great as the people who live in them, and John leads the way.”

In 2003, Coleman received the Volunteer Service Award from President George W. Bush and again from President Barack Obama in 2008. He also was presented with the Service to Mankind Award by the Southwest Sertoma Association in 2008.

Coleman is owner of a commercial and industrial HVAC service business, which he operates with four of his sons. He is married to his wife, Pat, for 59 years. Together, they have five sons and four grandchildren. He is listed in the National Register’s “Who’s Who” of Executives and Professionals and is a retired member of the Illinois State Police Auxiliary District 4, where he served as a public information officer.