Eastern President David Glassman will be honored and presented an award at the 2017 Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony on Saturday.

The Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce will be awarding Glassman with the Outstanding Citizen Award at the dinner.

Cindy White, president and CEO of the Charleston Area Chamber of Commerce, said Glassman was chosen for the award because he went beyond the line of duty, has good character, and has contributed to the community.

The event starts at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a social hour and dinner before the awards ceremony, where Glassman will be honored.

“We can all agree that last year was a pretty challenging year,” White said.

White said that Glassman stood out because he has been a tireless advocate of Eastern and has been committed to Eastern and the community.

What’s Cookin’ will be honored as the Small Business of the Year, and Dr. Tim Camden will be receiving Volunteer of the Year Award. The Diplomat of the Year Award will be announced during the awards ceremony.

White said there will be other members of Eastern faculty and staff at the dinner, but only Glassman will receive the award.

The buffet dinner will be served at about 6:20 p.m. following the social hour and cash bar.

After the dinner, the press release said there will be a short program that will take place at 6 p.m. including the passing of the gavel from outgoing Board Chairman Steve Runyon from Home Again Consignment Shop to incoming Board Chairman Tina Held of Carle Clinic.

According to the press release, the Midwest Dueling Pianos is back by popular demand again this year due to their interactive musical entertainment.

It also said there will be an opportunity to sing and dance along to the music.

The press release said that the dueling pianists take requests only by cash tip, so the more a person tips, the sooner their song request will be played.

Liz Stephens can be reached at 581-2812 or ejstephens2@eiu.edu.