Mount Prospect says thank you to 'innovative leader'

The Mount Prospect village board on Tuesday bid goodbye to the village's favorite local historian, Gavin Kleespies, executive director of the Mount Prospect Historical Society.

Mayor Irvana Wilks read a proclamation, thanking Kleespies for the last nine years that he's served the society. The proclamation recognizes Kleespies as a "valuable and innovative leader." It also stated that Tuesday was a special day of celebration in honor of Kleespies, who came to the society in 1999 after finishing a master's degree in art and social science from the University of Chicago. He started the job as a part-time position, but was later given full-time status.

Kleespies thanked the board for the honor. He said the experience at the society had been a great opportunity for him.

"Personally, I've grow in tremendous amounts," he said of his time at the society.

He cited the society's most recent endeavor, which was moving the 112-year-old Central School, which was transplanted last week to its current location next to the historical society.

"It was an epic project for a small organization," he said.

Kleespies recently accepted a job as executive director of the Cambridge Historical Society in Massachusetts. His last day at the Mount Prospect society will be June 13, he said. He starts his new job at the end of the month, he said.

Kleespies was instrumental in raising money to save the Central School. He's helped increase the number of society members to about 1,000 people, making it the largest society in the area, Wilks said.

He also developed three Web sites, which showcase the society's historical collection.

Kleespies was born and raised in Cambridge and his parents still live in the area. He said he hadn't been looking for a new job, but was approached by the Cambridge society, so he decided the time was right, when the opportunity presented itself.