2023 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 2023 Page 41 “I have known John as far back as I can remember although we became much closer when I returned to Lincoln in 1979, after Law School. I do not think I have ever met, or known, a person who had a greater interest in helping make Lincoln/Logan County a better place than John. He was always doing something to help someone in our community whether it was related to Lincoln Christian Church, the hospital, the schools, the Lincoln City Council, or the many civic groups that he has supported. “John served on the Lincoln City Council, his Church Board of Elders, and the Lincoln Elementary School District Board of Education. I am sure I have overlooked some of the Boards or Councils he sat on but those are the ones that come to mind first for me. Of course, at one point, John served as Mayor of Lincoln and had no motive or ambition other than to make Lincoln a better place to live and work. “For many, many years, John and his family have provided free Thanksgiving Meals to those less fortunate in and around Lincoln. Over the years, many people have helped in that endeavor and the number of meals they serve on Thanksgiving Day has grown to many hundreds if not thousands. John and his family provide these meals on Thanksgiving Day and do all of the work before they personally enjoy their own Thanksgiving. It is that selfless kind of thing that makes John such an asset to the Lincoln community. If someone or some group needs help with something, John Guzzardo is the first one in line to help. “John and I served as Co-Chairman of the Capital Champaign to build the new Hospital in Lincoln. Through that experience I came to realize how much John cares for the community of Lincoln. Together, we spent countless hours meeting with citizens and businesses in and around Lincoln in an attempt to raise funds for the new hospital. John was always right there to talk with anyone about the benefits a new hospital would bring to Lincoln. If I heard John say it once I heard him say it a thousand times, ‘we have to have good schools and a good Hospital to attract or retain people in Lincoln’. “John has always been very active in the Lincoln Christian Church, having served many terms as an Elder and I think also as Treasurer. “You could not meet a kinder and more gentle soul than John Guzzardo. He helps others constantly without any expectations of them. He lives by his Christian Faith and treats people kindly and always willing to help others. As John often says, “you got to believe!” Bill William B. Bates Blinn Bates is Bill’s son and has grown up witnessing the great friendship between his father and Guzzardo. And he’s been blessed to call Guzzardo his friend too. Blinn’s memories of Guzzardo go back to his childhood and continue on just as does the friendship to this day. “I have known John Guzzardo my entire life,” says Blinn Bates. “My earliest memories are having dinners and cookouts with the Guzzardo family. I remember John’s boisterous laughter while we watched America’s Funniest Home Videos after dinner. Continued --
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