Gary Gillis, commissioner of the Pekin Park District, has been elected Chairman of the Illinois Association of Park Districts’ (IAPD) Board of Trustees. 

Gillis was first elected to the IAPD board in 2018 and had served as vice-chairman since 2020. As chairman, he will assist the association with its mission of advancing Illinois park districts, forest preserves, conservation, recreation, and special recreation agencies in their ability to preserve natural resources and improve the quality of life for all people in Illinois. He will work with the 19-member board to advise the association in providing service, research, advocacy, public awareness, and educational programs to its membership of more than 360 park, recreation, and conservation agencies and nearly 100 affiliated business partners. 

“Gary is a dynamic leader with more than three decades of service to parks, recreation, and conservation,” said Peter Murphy, IAPD President and Chief Executive Officer. “He is an outstanding champion for the benefits of parks and recreation, and his vast experience and genuine enthusiasm for enhancing the quality of life for Illinois citizens are traits that will advance IAPD’s mission of keeping Illinois park districts, forest preserves, conservation, and recreation agencies the best in the nation.” 

Gillis serves on the IAPD Ambassadors, Board Development, Constitutional Bylaws, Membership, Nominating, and Program Committees, and the IAPD/IPRA Joint Legislative Committee. He is Chairman of the Executive and Honors and Resolutions Committees and is the IAPD Co-Vice-Chair of the Joint Coordinating Council and Co-Chair of the Joint Editorial Committee. He is a commissioner representative on the Illinois Parks Association Risk Services Board. 

Gillis was recognized during IAPD’s 2024 Annual Business Meeting with a Master Board Member Award through the association’s Board Member Development Program. Master Board Members have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty through committee involvement, attendance at continuing education programs, and through achievements at the local, state, and national levels. 

Gillis was elected to the Pekin Park District board in 1993 and has served as president and vice president. During his 31-year tenure, he co-founded the Pekin Park Foundation and still serves on its board. He was one of the founding board members of the Pekin Main Street and is a past president of the Tazewell County American Cancer Society. He is the Clue Writer for the Pepsi Marigold Medallion Hunt, a role he has held for 36 years; and he was a long-time member of the Pekin Marigold Festival Committee; and a two-time past president of Pekin Rotary Club, a membership he has held since 1979. He currently serves as Treasurer on the board of the Dirksen Congressional Center and Treasurer of the Pekin Public Library Board. He is also Co-Chair of Pekin’s 2024 Bicentennial Committee. 

Gillis opened Pekin’s first Edward Jones branch in 1979 and served the firm in a number of roles, most notably as a member of the Grass Roots Task Force, representing the firm in Washington, D.C. While at Edward Jones, he served on the Managing Partner’s “Kitchen Cabinet,” one of five Financial Advisors annually providing input and perspective to the firm’s CEO. Gillis retired after serving 40 years as a Financial Advisor.

IAPD was established in 1928 and is the oldest state association for parks, recreation, and conservation in America. The association serves more than 2,100 elected park, recreation and forest preserve district board members who govern more than 360 agencies employing more than 67,000 individuals.  

IAPD strives to improve Illinois’ quality of life through park districts, forest preserves, conservation, and recreation agencies by establishing grants and other new revenue streams for park land, facilities, and services; educating the public about the positive effects parks and recreation have on communities; and meeting the problem of decreasing open space in Illinois.