Judson to honor noted African-American leaders on Founders' Day, Oct. 19
Judson University's annual Founders' Day celebration Oct. 19 will celebrate the university's heritage and two African-American community leaders and their contributions.
Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, will headline this year's event beginning with an opening convocation at 10 a.m. in Herrick Chapel on Judson's Elgin campus, 1151 N. State St.
Kendrick is credited with helping revitalize the privately funded museum in Kansas City, Missouri - established in 1990 to preserve the history of Negro league baseball in America - during its first 20 years. He previously was the museum's director and vice president of marketing.
He developed his knowledge and passion for baseball under the guidance of the late baseball legend Buck O'Neil, former player and manager of the Kansas City Monarchs and the first African-American coach of a Major League Baseball team. O'Neil also helped establish the museum.
Kendrick also has held top-level posts with other nonprofits, including the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
During the Founders' Day luncheon, the university will honor the Rev. Nathaniel Edmond, a Judson trustee emeritus, with the Golden Eagle Award for his dedication and service to the university and Elgin community. The luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. in the Betty Lindner Campus Commons. Register online at judsonu.edu/foundersday by Oct. 9.
Edmond has served as pastor of Second Baptist Church of Elgin since 2000. Before going into ministry, he worked at Alcoa Aluminum for 31 years. He has received several awards and commendations and participated on numerous boards. He served on Judson's board from 2003 through 2017.
In 2010, Edmond received an honorary doctorate from Judson. He welcomed Judson's inaugural World Leaders Forum keynote speaker, President George W. Bush, in 2011, and for more than 15 years, has spearheaded Judson's popular Martin Luther King Day chapel.
Judson College was founded in 1913 as the undergraduate arm of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and was named for Adoniram Judson, the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. The Elgin location was established in 1963 and Judson became a full-fledged university in 2007.