Northbrook Historical Society President Judy Hughes awarded 'Key to the Village'
“Everyone has a Northbrook story,” Judy Hughes said during the “community moment” at the Northbrook village board's March 14 meeting.
Village President Kathryn Ciesla added another highlight to Hughes' special story, presenting her with a “Key to the Village,” signifying community, leadership and gratitude.
President of the Northbrook Historical Society, Hughes has contributed to many facets of village life since she and her husband, Mike, moved to Northbrook in 1962 from Glenview.
Hughes received the second ceremonial key the village has bestowed upon a citizen. On April 26, 2022, Olympic hockey player Jesse Compher earned the first.
“I'm speechless,” Hughes said after Ciesla gave her the brass key and a framed certificate.
Upon reflection, several days later, Hughes had a little more to say.
“It's so hard to express how deep my gratitude is for receiving the recognition for the community service that I've done,” Hughes told the Herald. “Community service is not done for recognition. You do it because you want to give back to your community.”
Hughes attended the board meeting to talk about the resumption of the “Northbrook Voices” interview series she'd started in 2011 in partnership with the Northbrook Public Library.
Hughes, who has three children, Rob, Patti and John, got involved in the Parent Teacher Association at the now closed Crestwood School. She served 14 years on the Northbrook District 28 school board, including six years as president.
She introduced her children to the arts, and enjoyed them herself. Hughes started the Art in the Park program at Village Green, and sang with the village's “Y'all Come Choir” for 14 years, which included performances at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Hughes served as the first chair of the Northbrook Arts Commission from 2002 to 2012, appointed by former Village Manager Mark Damisch the day he created the commission.
After leaving the District 28 board in 1995, Hughes joined the board of the Northbrook Historical Society. In 1999 she became its president. The society, which houses its history museum in the circa-1894 Northfield Inn, 1776 Walters Ave., will recognize its 50th anniversary this year at Shermerfest on Sept. 10.
Hughes served with or has been a member of many former or current municipal and service groups — the Northfield Township Youth Commission, the Rotary Club of Northbrook, and the village's Downtown, Economic Development and Plan commissions.
In 2002, for her work on the village's Centennial Committee, Illinois' first female Lt. Gov. Corinne Wood gave Hughes a “Women of Achievement Award.”
Hughes' work to promote Northbrook ahead of its 2001 centennial celebration included a WTTW program and the installation of the fountain at Village Green Park, Ciesla noted.
“Her focus is multifaceted,” Ciesla said. And it has been on Northbrook.
“This community is a wonderful place to live and I've loved being a part of it. I've enjoyed being of service to this community, because volunteering gives you back so much more than you ever give,” Hughes said. “All the friends you meet, the people who are joined together making your community a better place to live. I've made lifelong friends.”