More Top Picks Best Bakers Rack
player ready...Maureen “Mo” Welborn, the self-proclaimed “queen” of Buffalo Grove, is stepping down from her throne as a lead organizer of Buffalo Grove Days, capping a 30-year run as a community volunteer.
Buffalo Grove Village Board members recently recognized Welborn for her work in the community, handing her a proclamation and giving her a stand ovation during a meeting Feb. 27.
Welborn, 73, who is a native of Detroit, gave herself the nickname of “queen” during her years chairing and co-chairing the Buffalo Grove Days committee, she said.
A male co-chairman during a Buffalo Grove Days, an annual community festival that usually coincides with Labor Day weekend, called himself the king of Buffalo Grove after seeing all the activity at the festival, Welborn recalled.
She consequently dubbed herself the “queen” of Buffalo Grove, and the nickname ended up sticking in the community, she said. At one point even, unknown members of the Buffalo Grove Days committee snuck onto her roof while she was away at work and painted a crown around her chimney, she said.
Welborn’s time on the committee began when former trustee Bill Reid came to her house unexpectedly and drove her to her first meeting, where she was named secretary of the committee, Welborn recalled.
But 30 years of volunteering in one form or another ended in February largely because of health reasons, she said. She noted how a heart attack and lung cancer have diminished some of her strength.
Q: Chicago and Detroit have been rivals for decades, but Detroit has fallen on hard times. How does your native land compare, in your eyes, to your new home?
A: It’s not a fair question, and the only reason is because I left so many years ago. When we left Detroit, Detroit was still a viable town. We really didn’t go back there that much. I think of Chicago as my home.
Q: What are the Buffalo Grove Days of recent years like compared to the events you organized?
A: Oh my dear God. When I started, the main stage was in the middle of Raupp Boulevard. The committee —and there was only 13 of us back then — we actually moved tables and cleaned the big food tent. We cleaned the streets. You were working from morning until almost the next morning. It was quite a feat. We did our own schlepping.
Q: After two significant health scares, you almost didn’t make it to retirement. Now that you’ve left the Buffalo Grove Days committee, are you still volunteering?
A: Oh absolutely, I’m not done yet. I’m involved in a lung advocacy group called Lung Force. I’m going to Washington, D.C. in April as the state representative for Illinois for National Lung Cancer Day. That’s my new thing.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer