By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Normal’s Citizen of the Year is someone, who in the words of Mayor Chris Koos, has “quietly and without fanfare” made extraordinary and valuable contributions.

The honor surprised Earl Kingman, 85, but his wife of 62 years, Rhea, managed to keep it a secret for three weeks.

“I really played it cool,” she said.

The Kingman family came in from Colorado and from the Chicago suburbs to see him rewarded for his efforts.

Kingman is proudest of his 33 years on the Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa, Japan Sister Cities Committee, including five years as its chairman. Kingman said sister cities promote world peace.

“When you get to know and understand people in another country, I think then you appreciate them more. You understand what they’re doing and what’s important to them. So, I wouldn’t see us ever going to war with a country that was a sister city,” Kingman said.

The retired Gromark employee was on the Bloomington-Normal Airport Board and volunteered for numerous charities and non-profit organizations like the Scott Health Center and Illinois State University’s Senior Professionals Program.

Kingman is also responsible for persuading the Chicago Cubs to bring their annual off-season caravan to the Twin-Cites, which came here from 1983 to 2008. In 2012, he was Honorary Cub of the Year and Kingman said it was amazing to see the Cubs win the World Series two years ago.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected]