(bright music) (bright music concludes) - I'm Jenn Gordon.

Welcome to "Local Legends."

Our community is shaped by people who see what's possible and give their time, talents, and care to make it happen.

Often, they're the last to think their own story deserves to be told.

At WTVP, we believe those stories matter.

They help us understand the people and experiences that have shaped the place we call home.

Tonight, we celebrate Gerald M. Brookhart, Sister Judith Ann Duvall, Ronald Givens Sr., and Kert Huber, whose commitment to Central Illinois has made a lasting difference, and his example reminds us how one person can touch the lives of so many.

(bright music) (crowd chattering faintly) - [Narrator] For generations of students, a spring day in Downtown Peoria has met a chance to be heard, to show what they've made, to step in front of an audience and discover they have something to offer.

Gerry Brookhart helped create that opportunity.

He had spent years watching what a little encouragement could do.

- It's sometimes the smallest things that can lead to such great opportunity and great things.

- [Narrator] He grew up in Davenport, Iowa, one of four boys in a Catholic family.

He wanted to get to school so badly that he once followed his older brother there on a bicycle.

The sister sent him home.

He would have to wait another year.

- My mom and my dad gave me so many great opportunities that I just, most kids don't have, so I was certainly blessed with great parents, and I've been able to have a great life.

- [Narrator] He went on to St.

Ambrose Academy and St.

Ambrose College.

Later came fellowships at Northwestern and Harvard, but the career he first imagined was coaching.

Teaching was how he could make that happen.

After a year in Freeport, he came to Spalding in Peoria.

One day, on cafeteria duty, he asked a student to pick up a napkin from the floor.

The boy did.

Gerry thanked him with a few words that meant more than he knew.

- He picked it up and gave it to me, and I put it in the trash, and I said, "Yeah, you're a good man."

Time was up for lunch.

We were walking out and this kid comes up to me, and he said, "You know, Mr.

Brookhart?

Nobody's ever called me a good man before."

And I said, "Really?"

"No."

Here's a kid who I don't know, he's in high school, and nobody ever told him he was a good person before.

Well, we wanted to change that, and obviously, can't change everything, but I did my best to turn out a lot of good men and a lot of good women along the way.

- [Narrator] He earned a master's degree at Bradley and became principal of Gardner School in Peoria Heights.

Then he won election to the Regional Office of Education.

He stayed for 30 years.

The work reached beyond any one classroom, but the children remained at the center of it.

He helped start early childhood programs in Peoria and worked with churches to bring a similar opportunity to the Valley.

Working with those families made an impression on him.

- Taught me an awful lot about life, because I said, when I got down in the Valley, I learned more in a year than I did in four years of college about real life.

- [Narrator] He wanted more people to see what children could do.

A band concert outside the courthouse gave him an idea.

- There were literally hundreds and hundreds of people that came down to listen to the concert, and the courthouse plaza was beautiful there with the fountains that they had.

- [Narrator] Manual High School band director, Fred Huber, had brought people downtown to listen.

Gerry wondered if the children's artwork could be part of the evening, too.

- So I called down to Mr.

Huber, and Manual said, "Would it be okay if we came down to the courthouse and put up an art show by our little kids in the schools that are here for summer?"

- [Narrator] They painted refrigerator boxes and folded them into triangles to display the art.

It was a simple beginning.

Soon there were more exhibits, more performances, and students coming from across Central Illinois.

- So it just kind of took off from there, and then it became kind of a fixture in the city that it was kind of harbinger of spring, we called it.

- [Narrator] Music educator, Mary Jo Papich, saw what that public stage could mean, especially when schools were facing difficult choices about the arts.

- He also started this, if I remember correctly, about the time the arts were starting to be cut from schools, (bright music) and he was ahead of his time, thinking, "Hey, if you show your value, and you're in the community performing, you'll be missed when you're gone," and I think that was a really great move.

- [Narrator] In 2026, the Gerald M. Brookhart Arts and Education Spring Celebration reached its 40th year.

(crowd chattering softly) 12,000 students from 136 schools in seven counties took part.

An idea that began with boxes and artwork had become an opportunity shared by generations.

- Gerry probably never imagined that it would go for all these years, 40 years, and he probably didn't realize the phenomenal effect, the reach of 400,000 students.

We're so grateful.

He came up with the idea that he started it, that he put it into practice, into play, and we all have benefited from it.

- [Narrator] The value of that experience can stay with a child long after the performance is over.

- [Mary Jo] The arts make a difference in one's life, and the students, by getting up and performing, whether they be very new at it as elementary students or seasoned, like high school or college students, they learn transferable life skills, I call them.

- [Narrator] Teachers don't always get to see how far their encouragement travels.

Years later, after a concert at Sid's, Gerry was waiting in a line of cars when a woman recognized him.

- And all of a sudden, a car about three cars up stopped and this young woman jumped out, and she ran up to me in my car (chuckles) and said, "Oh, Mr.

Brookhart, I am so happy to see you.

You've done so much to change my life.

I just wanted to thank you."

- [Narrator] That moment brought him back to what a teacher can mean in someone's life.

- She was so happy to see me, and then my God, you know, I must have done something right, and that, to me, was just a classic example of what a teacher can be.

(soft music) (soft bright music) - [Narrator] A patient may never meet Sister Judith Ann Duvall, but the leaders she's mentored helped carry the sister's mission into the care OSF provides.

That work began with a young girl who wanted to belong to God.

- It just felt like home.

It was like God was saying, "This is to be your home," and I can remember going home on the bus, crying all the way 'cause I didn't want to leave.

So why did I choose this community?

'Cause He wanted me here and actually led me here.

- [Narrator] Her community encouraged her education and entrusted her with recruiting and preparing new sisters.

She went on to serve as treasurer and president of the OSF Board and as CEO and major superior of her religious community.

As major superior for 18 years, she helped guide the religious community whose mission gives OSF its purpose.

When she became president after Sister Frances Marie died, she had no formal orientation.

Looking back, she remembers the uncertainty with humor.

- I had no formal orientation to what I was supposed to do (chuckles) or how I was supposed to serve in that except what I kind of witnessed externally of the sister's life before me.

So I sat in this big office with nothing in the drawers, looking out the window, you know, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do.

- [Narrator] She learned to work with people whose personalities differed from her own.

Over time, she became someone other leaders could turn to.

Michelle Conger has worked at OSF for more than 30 years.

- Sister Judith Ann is an incredible mentor.

I mean, she really has dedicated so much of her life to mentoring the leaders here at OSF Healthcare and assuring that all of us really understand that we've been called to this role, that this is not a job, that it really is a ministry and a mission, and extension of the sisters.

- [Narrator] She had seen faith put into practice at home.

When cancer took her mother's leg, Sister Judith Ann helped care for her.

Her mother offered a lasting lesson.

- She told me one day, laying there in bed, "You know, I just got to the point where I didn't think I could go any further.

I just couldn't handle it, it was too much."

She said, "It was like God reached His hand out to me and held my hand, and then I knew I'd be okay."

And she said to me, she said, "I had to make a choice.

I could either be miserable and make your dad and you kids miserable, or I could set an example for you when you face hard times in your life."

- [Narrator] Her mother's example stayed with her.

In her work with OSF leaders, she helped others connect their responsibilities to the sisters' mission.

Asked which opportunity mattered most to her, she points to ministry development.

- When I think about all the opportunities I had, the one that I loved the most and think probably has made and will make the biggest impact on OSF is when I was appointed coordinator of the Ministry Development Program, and that's a program to really form our leaders much more deeply in our mission culture and our values, and to do it on an ongoing basis, not a one-time exposure, but a program that has continuity.

- [Narrator] For the leaders who take part, that mission becomes personal from the moment they arrive.

- [Michelle] When you go to Ministry Development, she waits at the front door and she greets every single person as you come in.

And no matter what burden you've had that day, no matter, I mean, healthcare can be stressful, the people that are coming in that day, I mean, we all know that she cares about us, you know, she knows us, and she really is giving us time to grow ourselves and become more connected to OSF.

- [Narrator] She makes time for people and the burdens they carry.

When two executives were struggling to get along, she brought that concern to prayer.

- So I was having a conversation with God, you know, "How can I help them get back together again?"

And it was just as if He said, "Your role is just bring them here and I will touch their lives."

So I think He started the Ministry Development Program, because He has something in mind for each of them.

My role is to convene them, speak to them, but He's the one that does the work.

(soft bright music) - [Narrator] Her work also asks leaders to bring sound business decisions and the responsibility to patients into the same conversation.

For Sister Judith Ann, both belong to the mission.

- Even in OSF, it's a sacred ministry, but we can use business experience and principles to help guide and in support of our mission of the service of human life, and then that way, these things that have secular dimensions actually become sacred in the service of human life.

And so as they work together in beautiful synergy, but all in the service of that one purpose to do what's good and right, then you had the greatest power.

- [Narrator] For Sister Judith Ann, serving people starts with how you see them.

Even the words used to describe someone receiving care can make a difference.

- I think Sister Judith Anne's legacy is really the people.

I mean, she has developed the capabilities so that the mission of OSF Healthcare continues.

It continues through all the people she's mentored, It continues through the love that she has shared with all of us.

I mean, I remember when I was first, I was a pretty young leader at OSF, and she was talking to me about how important words are, and she was telling me that, you know, you really have to think about the words that you use when you're referencing the care that we're providing.

You know, we don't have necessarily customers, we have patients, you know, we have people that we've been called to serve.

And while that's a small shift, I mean, that has stayed with me and will stay with me forever, and I think she leaves that kind of legacy with all of the leaders that she's mentored here at OSF.

- [Narrator] That is how her work continues, in sisters prepared to serve, in leaders who understand the mission, and in the way they see each patient.

(bright music continues) The young girl who wanted to belong to God became a leader who helped others find purpose in serving their neighbors.

Asked what wisdom she would leave them, she returned to that faith.

- God is truly wonderful.

That's my name for Him, that's what I call Him, and listening to Him, serving Him, placing your trust in Him will be the source of your greatest peace and joy.

(soft music) - [Narrator] For Ron Givens, success comes with a responsibility.

If you have found a way forward, help someone else get there, too.

He's brought that belief to his businesses, his family, and years of service here in Peoria, and much of it began with a conversation between a father and son.

- I think I was 13 years old, you know, about this time of year when the leaves are falling, and so he and I were in the backyard, raking leaves.

I had been going through some of the stuff like kids do, some of his stuff, and I found some medals that he had, and I had never really seen them, and I had an opportunity to look at 'em and wonder what they were.

And so when we were out there, raking these leaves, that Saturday, I asked him about them.

- [Narrator] His father began talking about serving in Korea, driving generals in the army.

For a boy already thinking about his own future, it opened up a world of possibilities.

- I knew I wanted to be in business.

I didn't know exactly what the business was, and I knew I wanted to be a police officer.

I knew I wanted to be in the Marine Corps.

- [Narrator] He joined the Marines and eventually retired as a gunnery sergeant.

- People would ask me where I was from, and I'd say, "Peoria," and they'd say, "Well, I don't know where Peoria is, but I know where Richard Pryor came from."

I said, "Peoria," and so it was an interesting concept.

- [Narrator] His father's driving inspired another ambition.

Ron raced stock cars at the Peoria Speedway and around Illinois.

He earned a place in the Peoria Old Timers Racing Club Hall of Fame, and one racing dream took him all the way to Daytona.

- [Ron] The other things that I had on that bucket list was, again, to drive the Daytona 500, and I got to drive on a Daytona 500 track four different times.

Didn't win, (laughs) but, you know, I did some tire testing and some testing for Richard Petty.

And of course, if you know anything about NASCAR, Richard Petty is obviously one of the old heroes of NASCAR.

- [Narrator] He also became a Peoria police officer and detective.

That job called for patience and a willingness to hear people out.

- I didn't go in and just automatically jump on somebody.

Let's find out what's going on first.

There's nothing wrong with finding out what was going on before you buttoned them up and sent 'em all away, you know, because there is two sides to every story.

- [Narrator] That ease with people followed him into business.

His son, Ronnie, had watched it for years.

- We would go places that were only supposed to be a 15-minute stop, and he would run into somebody and start talking, and then after about an hour, I'd come out and be like, "Oh, did you know that person?"

He's like, "No, that's the first time I met him.

We just, you know, just started conversating like we were old friends."

So again, he's had that gift, you know, for a long time, and the ability to be able to connect with people is, you know, carried over to business.

- [Narrator] Ron bought JM Industrial Supply, and later, helped start GIVSCO Construction.

Building a business was one goal, sharing it with his children was another.

Ronnie started working with his father at 15.

Those early Saturday mornings were not always welcome.

Years later, he came to see them differently.

- But as I've, you know, gotten older, and, you know, you kind of see, coming up, you see your parent as a parent, but then as you either mature or just get to a certain point in your life when you kind of cross over and see them as a person, you know, I have been lucky enough to see that.

- He started a business at 15, and he's still there, so he knows.

He knows the business.

I feel so comfortable with him.

He now has his own family, of course, and by having his own family, I thought, "Well, the legacy will carry on."

- [Narrator] As the businesses grew, Ron made time for work that reached beyond his own family.

He served with the Community Foundation of Central Illinois, Heart of Illinois United Way, and Habitat for Humanity.

Kiwanis became another place to put his belief in helping others into practice.

- He's just a champion in the community and around the city.

You know, I can only hear good things about him.

- [Narrator] GIVSCO's community work includes the Peoria Riverfront Museum and St.

Paul Baptist Church.

For Ron, the reason to give back is straightforward.

- I've always been a person who thought, you know, if you reach certain levels of success on that ladder as you go up, you don't ever put your foot on somebody below you.

You reach down and help them.

- [Narrator] That is the example his family will carry forward.

The companies are part of it, so were the habits learned alongside him, listening to people, doing the work, and sharing an opportunity when you can.

- What I see is my father's legacy is the family.

Obviously, the companies, whether they come or go, but you know, just what's being instilled and being passed down from generation to generation.

- [Narrator] A conversation with his father helped Ron imagine the life he wanted.

He went on to build it here in the community he has always called home.

Now, his children and grandchildren have his example to build on.

After all the goals he's reached, his advice comes back to the people closest to you.

- Take care of your loved ones.

You know, that's very important, and if you don't have any loved ones, get some.

- [Narrator] A boarded-up warehouse can look like the end of a building story.

Kert Huber sees a place where someone might live, or work, or start something new.

For more than 40 years, he's helped older buildings find another life and helped Peoria hold onto pieces of its own.

- It's fun to think about someone laying those bricks or those blocks in place 120, 130 years ago, and we're gonna keep them there for them.

I like that, it's a good feeling.

- [Narrator] His own story begins on a farm outside Galva.

He grew up with two older brothers and a younger sister, watching his parents work and learning what it meant to do a job well.

- [Kert] Dad said, "You got to work."

My brother said, "This is how you work."

He taught me, you know, everything from riding a bike to buying my first car, to giving me pointers on my first date.

- [Narrator] At 21, he was working in Springfield.

Along with the work came a lesson he would keep using.

- When I got a little older, 21, I was working for a guy in Springfield, Illinois by the name of Tom Whittle.

Tom introduced me to a positive mental attitude, positive thinking, and I always had it, but he showed me how to use it as a tool, and it stuck with me all through my life.

- [Narrator] A job with Dawson Home Centers brought him to Peoria.

Soon, he was selling fireplace installations in the evening and doing the work during the day.

The projects grew, so did his interest in buildings other people might pass by.

- Designing a new building is much more difficult for me than taking an existing building and finding a new purpose for it.

That's where the fun is, the challenge is.

- [Narrator] One early challenge was the Judge Jacob Gale House.

Kert had reconnected with Doreen, his high school sweetheart, after 20 years apart.

The building gave her an early look at what life with him might involve.

- The first building that she was aware of that I had bought was the Jacob Gale house, and one side of it had fallen out.

So she was a little concerned about what she was getting into, just marrying this guy, you know?

But it's worked out well, we're very happy.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] The house survived, so did the marriage, and Kert kept looking for places that could have a future.

One of his favorites is 401 Water.

- It was abandoned for 15 years.

All the windows were boarded up.

There's just raccoons and pigeons living there, and we took it in, I think it was the fall of '99.

We got possession of it, we purchased it from the city, and by Christmas of 2000, we occupied one of the condominiums.

And then, I think, by April of that year, PSA-Dewberry occupied two floors of it.

- [Narrator] His daughter, Erikka Claerhout, had just started working with him.

Before there were finished homes and offices, there were people trying to imagine them.

- So it took a lot of foresight out of people or them having to learn to trust us, as they're sitting here looking at a dirty warehouse, that this could be their future home or their future office space, and what really could be done with it.

- [Narrator] The building's 150,000 square feet became part of Downtown's daily life again.

That success helped point the way to another project, the Commerce Bank Building at 416 Main with his partner, Dave Golwitzer.

- [Kert] We could have modified the look of the building and saved a couple million dollars, but we didn't.

We put it back.

It was about $5 million just to make sure the top of that building was sound to last another hundred years, but I'm really glad we did it, and I think Dave is, too.

- [Narrator] That investment was made with the next hundred years in mind.

The same concern for doing things right shows up in his relationships with tenants.

- If he gives someone his word, you can count on it.

He will follow through on that, and I think that's translated a lot to a lot of long-term tenants that we've had.

We've been able to keep them.

They know they can trust us and they trust what, you know, Kert tells them, and he always follows through with it.

- [Narrator] His involvement in Peoria reaches beyond the buildings he owns.

He's served on construction and planning commissions, and with the Peoria Riverfront Association.

He and Doreen also support organizations serving people who are homeless.

Some of that work happens with little attention.

- He's generous with a lot of organizations in this town and a lot of other things people maybe don't see, but with some of our tenants, and just helping them along with things kind of behind the scenes, if need be.

Especially if they were struggling with something, he's always willing to work with someone and try to make life a little easier for them.

- [Narrator] Kert sees plenty of reasons to believe in Peoria.

The older buildings matter to him, so do the people and businesses that give the city its character.

- Here, we have all kinds of restaurants that are mom and pop-owned, so you have all different, you know, not just cookie-cutter foods, same way with the coffee shops, and we have, we have a lot of nightlife here.

Cultural, my gosh, for a city our size, the cultural offerings that are offered in Peoria, you won't find in a city three times the size, but yet most people, they kind of knock it, "Well, I'm from Peoria," and they shouldn't.

They need to embrace Peoria.

It's a great town.

(bright music) - [Narrator] He's made a living finding a use for places that might otherwise be lost.

In doing so, he's helped keep part of Peoria's past in its everyday life.

The work is personal and he knows it can last longer than the person who began it.

- I happen to hit a niche and figure out how to make a living from doing it in something that's fun for me.

Construction is fun.

Seeing things go up, and owning real estate, I think that comes from my farm boy background.

You know, you acquired real estate, you acquired farms, and so being able to drive past a piece of property and say, "Yeah, that's my property," it really gives you a good feel, kind of a little ego boost, no doubt about that, but also knowing that you've made that piece of property and it's going to be here after you're gone.

You know, it's pretty cool, I like it.

- Each of our local legends have helped make Central Illinois a better place to call home.

Their influence continues through the people they've encouraged and the opportunities they've helped create.

At WTVP, we're proud to preserve these stories so future generations can understand their impact and find inspiration in their example.

I'm Jenn Gordon, thanks for watching.