St. Charles’ Charlemagne Award ceremony registration closes soon

Registration is still open for the 57th annual ceremony celebrating the city of St. Charles’ highest honor, the Charlemagne Award.

The St. Charles Area Chamber of Commerce will host the 2025 Charlemagne Award ceremony on Friday, May 2, at the Royal Fox Country Club.

Limited seats are still available, and registration will close on April 26. Those interested should RSVP on the Chamber’s website as soon as possible.

Doors will open at 5:45 p.m. at the country club at 4405 Royal and Ancient Drive.

Cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m., featuring an open bar, photo booth, dance floor, raffles and other games and prizes. The awards ceremony will take place during dinner, following cocktail hour.

The Charlemagne Award, established in 1968, is a lifetime achievement award given annually to one community member with a distinguished history of service to the city of St. Charles.

This year, in addition to a new venue, the recipient of the Charlemagne award was decided by votes from community members for the first time.

In years past, the winner was selected in secret by the Chamber of Commerce and revealed during the awards ceremony, but this year community members had a say in who receives the honor.

Community members nominated and cast their votes for three candidates, Charles Murphy, Brian McNally and Bob Karas. The winner will be announced during the ceremony.

Karas is the leading member of the Karas Restaurant Group, which operates 17 establishments in the area and has been serving Fox Valley communities since 1974.

McNally is the owner and CEO of McNally’s Heating and Cooling, a company he started out of a van off Kirk Road and grew into a titan of the HVAC industry, and an integral supporter of St. Charles community events.

Murphy is the owner of Midwest Compost, member of the Chamber of Commerce and frequent volunteer at community events. While he is the only nominee to settle in St. Charles as an adult, the Iowa native developed the same love for the St. Charles community shared by everyone who chooses to raise their family there.

L.E.A.P Award recipient Daphne Velez and Civic Image Award recipients Albert “Bo” Smith and Jim and Kim Maffia will also be recognized during the ceremony.