Longtime Buffalo Grove Days volunteer recognized by village board

The undisputed queen of Buffalo Grove was honored this week by the village board.

At Monday's meeting, the board passed a proclamation commending Maureen (Mo) Welborn for "her years of humble and faithful service as well as serving as an inspiration for all of those who seek to make the Village of Buffalo Grove a strong and more vibrant community."

The words, read by Village President Beverly Sussman, were greeted by a standing ovation from all who were well aware of her hard work on the Buffalo Grove Days Committee.

Welborn said it was a late former trustee who sparked her involvement.

"I complained to Bill Reid about the Porta Potties," she said. The next year, "I was eating dinner. When I went to the front door, he said, 'I'm here to pick you up for a Buffalo Grove Days meeting.' It was supposed to be one and done," but it turned into a three-decades-long commitment.

She recalled the group started with 13 volunteers who did everything from moving tables to cleaning the streets.

The proclamation called her "the undisputed mover and shaker of Buffalo Grove Days."

Sussman said, "She strove to ensure that families with a disabled child or adult would have the opportunity to enjoy a few hours of fun every year at Buffalo Grove Days."

The hundreds of volunteers treated Welborn, who has lived in the village since 1968, as royalty, "even going so far as to paint a crown on her chimney," Sussman said.

Although she has stepped down from the committee, she will have one last hurrah when she serves as this year's parade grand marshal.

Welborn and her late husband Rannie also were active members of the Buffalo Grove Lions/Lioness Club. Today, Welborn devotes her time to the American Lung Association.

"They were there for me when I needed them," said Welborn, who is a lung cancer survivor and says she is cancer free.