William S. and Sarah O. Wilson were named the Fulton County Chamber of Commerce’s Community Service Award winners.
She is publisher of The Rochester Sentinel. He is editor.
The award is given annually by the chamber to honor extraordinary service to the community over a period of years.
The Wilsons are the seventh husband and wife team to win the award.
They were recognized for their professional work of keeping their community informed and for their volunteerism.
Sarah served on the Fulton County Public Library board for two terms, part of one as president, through the hiring process for a new director and a major expansion. She also is a charter member of the Woodlawn Hospital Foundation. She serves as chair of the special events committee and is a member of the executive committee.
In 1985, shortly after moving their young family to Rochester, the Wilsons instituted the Sentinel Scholars program to regularly recognize the academic pursuits of high school students throughout Fulton County. Bill also has been an elementary school mentor.
Bill was an embedded reporter with the U.S. Army during the Iraq invasion as a 50-year-old.
Sarah served three, three-year terms on the HSPA Foundation board of directors from 2000-2009 and is currently president of the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame board.
Bill serves on the Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Newsroom Seminar Committee and is a member of the Indiana Debate Commission.
Sarah was managing editor of Indiana University’s Indiana Daily Student and later The Alaska Journal of Commerce and then spent two years as a staff writer for The Associated Press.
Bill served as editor in chief of the Indiana Daily Student. He worked in Anchorage, Alaska, for The Times and The Daily News. Prior to moving to Rochester, he worked at The Kansas City Star, where he was a member of a reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize.
– The Rochester Sentinel
