Floyd Curl was an integral part of the foundation of Lake Land College. His contributions to the college started prior to its official birth in 1966.

Curl served on the original mid-1960s steering committee that worked to bring Lake Land into existence. He spent many hours and drove many miles in the development of the idea that eventually became Lake Land College.

Curl's commitment to the College was recognized when he was awarded posthumously the Clem G. Phipps Exemplary Trustee Award at the June 13 board of trustees meeting. The award, established in 2009, is designed to honor former trustees who have made significant contributions to the board and/or college and/or have made contributions at the local, state, regional or national level that reflect positively on the College.

"Floyd was an early backer of LLC and never wavered in his dedication to the college and the staff," said Robert Webb, former president of Lake Land College.

"His past experience in school administration gave Floyd insight into the proper role of the board and the CEO in an organization," Webb added.

Curl had previously served as the superintendent of the Neoga school district from 1951-1956, but by the time of the steering committee, he was retired from education and was the owner of an insurance agency in Neoga.

Following Lake Land's creation, Curl was elected to the first board of trustees by voter approval in September 1966. He served as a trustee until he retired from the board on April 18, 1977. During his 11 years of formal service, he served in a wide variety of board positions, such as secretary, vice chairman and chairman, and contributed to regional, state and national committees, such as the boundary sub-committee, the legislative committee of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association, the health care licensure commission, the regional coordinator for the East Central region and the chairman of the ad hoc committee, where he studied the relationships between the Capital Development Board and the community colleges in the state.

"Even after leaving the board, Curl remained loyal and supportive to Lake Land College, often stopping by campus and offering his assistance," said Max Jaeger, who nominated Curl for the award.

In 1985, Curl was honored by Lake Land College when he received the Distinguished Service Award at commencement that year. Until the end of his life, he fully supported the college. In his will, Curl left a generous portion of his estate to the Lake Land College Foundation.