Four community awards were presented to individuals by the Centralia chapter of the NAACP for outstanding contributions to the community during the Juneteenth Celebration.
These certificates of achievement were given to Morgan Isaiah, D’Aaron Owens, Crystal Koch, and Malaya Downey.
Morgan Isaiah received a Certificate of Achievement in recognition of her work as coordinator at the Community Resource Center, member of the Youth Center board, and commissioner of the Centralia Youth Commission.
D’Aaron Owens was named Youth Professional of the Year for his accomplishments as an athlete and basketball coach, having played basketball at Centralia High School, and coached at Central City grade school, Kaskaskia College, and Southwestern Illinois College.
Crystal Koch was named Citizen of the Year for her work in coordinating community events such as school supply giveaways and Christmas programs to assist underprivileged youth.
Malaya Downey was given the Community Improvement award her work in coordinating community development programs in Centralia including the Juneteenth celebration to fund improvements to Laura Leake Park with the goal of inspiring further improvements in the area.
