Few of Chester County’s leaders are as strong a beacon of inspiration as the late Robert Lukens, Ph.D and the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls, this year’s recipients of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce’s top annual honors.

Their passion to reimagine how to make Chester County “a better, brighter place to live” has thrust their causes to new heights and lit the way for others to follow. Special recognition for their efforts will be bestowed upon them at the GWCC Annual Banquet on Tuesday at The Desmond Hotel in Malvern.

Lukens, the former Chester County Historical Society president whose enthusiasm for preserving history was cut short by cancer last year, is set to receive the 2015 Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award while the Fund for Women and Girls claims the J. Dewees Mosteller Community Service Award.

“We are all the better for having known and worked with Rob while he was at CCHS,” GWCC President Mark Yoder said. “This award is an opportunity to recognize his many contributions and to publicly thank him. Needless to say, Rob is and will be sorely missed.”

The West Chester resident, husband and father of two bolstered fundraising, laid the groundwork for soon-to-come renovations and championed the cause of history through weekly Daily Local News columns and WCHE-AM radio shows, and periodic History on Tap presentations at local pubs.

“Rob was a passionate and inspirational leader for CCHS,” Board of Trustees President George Zumbano said. “He was articulate, thoughtful and had a great vision. Rob had a genuine love of people that endeared him to our staff, volunteers and supporters. Because of his leadership, we are closing in on our goal to completely renovate our permanent gallery areas and have raised nearly $3 million of our $3.5 million goal.”

Lukens had been a CCHS college volunteer, intern and collections manager prior to gaining experience as chief curator and head of collections at the Chemical Heritage Foundation, executive director of Historic Yellow Springs, and exhibits and education director at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, all before returning to CCHS for the “opportunity of a lifetime.” He was CCHS president for four years.

“I have a deep passion for preserving, interpreting and promoting Chester County’s past,” he said in a 2009 interview. “That’s an essential part of who I am as an individual and professional, and being away from the county for a couple of years has made that even more evident for me. That love for the county’s heritage is the fuel that will keep me going during the good times and tough challenges ahead.”

Tuesday’s Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award celebrates that legacy.

“I know Rob would have been truly honored and humbled by this award, and we are all so proud to know he was so well-respected and thought of by so many in the community,” his wife, Rebecca, said. “It goes without saying that I wish he was here to accept this award so he could have known what an impact he had made in West Chester.”

A similar passion for making an impact throughout the community, directed toward a “bold” and “innovative” new mission and three-year strategic plan, earned the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls the honor of GWCC’s J. Dewees Mosteller Community Service Award.

Despite a generous track record of $2.25 million in grants over the past 20 years, CCFWG supporters pushed the organization to go even further and illuminate the struggles facing women in order to empower them and ultimately build a better, healthier community.  

“Financial independence, freedom from domestic violence and access to medical care are just some of the things that allow women to thrive and, as such, allow our communities to thrive,” Executive Director Susan Mostek said. “It is not enough to fund programs that help women. We must also work to end the causes of inequity that women face even in 2016.”

CCFWG funnels its investments into a growing list of more than 65 organizations that meet the core needs of women and girls, improve their access to economic opportunities, promote health and wellness by addressing their specific needs, and invest in systems and sustainable change efforts to challenge gender inequality.

“The GWCC is honored to recognize the Fund for its longevity and creativity, and for its expertise in collaborating with organizations and individuals toward a common goal,” Yoder said. “The Fund’s board, staff and volunteers are raising funds, designing and presenting programs, and raising awareness … and doing it all successfully. We are truly inspired by their spirit.”

Together with its partners, the CCFWG has provided vocational training and workforce preparation, case management for teenage mothers, domestic violence services, and housing and homelessness prevention.

“No one stands alone in improving the community,” Mostek added. “As we work with so many and strive to provide resources and opportunities for women and girls to succeed, this award truly is an honor for the Fund.”