10/29/2021
Today during the Highway and Buildings Committee meeting, the Kankakee County Board voted to declare 5000 S. Road at the intersection of 12750 E. to 13000 E. in Pembroke Township to be named "Honorary Rev. Hezekiah Brady, Jr. Road."
Reverend Hezekiah Brady, Jr. resided in and served the Pembroke Township area from 1958 through his formal retirement in 1999. Throughout his ministry, Rev. Brady served as Pastor, founded the not-for-profit organization, Center for Recreating and Family Training (C.R.A.F.T.), operated after school programs, summer day camps, and a Christian high school where all graduates were accepted into college and earned degrees.
He also worked to establish the Student Adoption Program (S.A.P.) which served as a mentoring program, and to help prepare youth for college. Hundreds of students were successfully served in the Pembroke community. The Student Assistance Fund (S.A.F.) was later established to support students financially.
The C.R.A.F.T. Board of Directors established the Hezekiah Brady, Jr. Scholarship in 2005 in memory of Rev. Brady's vision and work in the community. His legacy continues as seven of the current C.R.A.F.T. board members were once participants in his programs.
