Albert Myers Jr. (1917-2005), part of the second-generation family management of the Myers Brothers Department Store, was named Springfield’s First Citizen in 1973.
His award citation noted Myers’ leadership in both business and charitable activity. Myers served as president of the Association of Commmerce and Industry and of the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce. He chaired the local Community Chest fundraiser, and he was active with the YMCA, Golden Laurels, junior football, the Boy Scouts and Boys Farm.
A lifelong athlete — Myers played football for the University of Illinois — Myers also was an avid skier and an early advocate of Aspen, Colo. as a skiing venue.
Myers discussed the Myers Brothers Department Store, his father Albert Sr. and uncles who founded the store, 1924 fire, policies and operating procedures, family involvement in the business, and anti-Semitism in a 1972 interview for the University of Illinois Springfield oral history program. The interview was conducted by John Vrooman.
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