Smith wins public health honor

Jenna Smith, a Nutrition and Wellness Educator at the University of Illinois Extension Office in McLean County, has been named the winner of the 2025 McLean County Public Health Award. Smith was presented with the award on April 9th at an awards ceremony at McLean County Health Department.

The Public Health Award was created by the McLean County Board of Health and McLean County Health Department (MCHD) to recognize one county resident each year who furthers public health principles and practices by providing services in the county. The public health contribution can be professional or occupational, either as a volunteer or in a paid capacity. 

“We received several nominations for the award this year,” said McLean County Health Department Administrator Jessica McKnight. “The selection committee had a difficult time choosing one winner from all the very deserving candidates.”

The award selection committee looked at several criteria: public health impact, collaboration, community leadership, and contribution to health promotion when making their decision. 

“Jenna Smith has clearly demonstrated all these principles and more,” McKnight said.  “Her hard work has helped to further our mission of protecting and promoting health.”

Smith has been an important advocate for McLean County residents who want to learn more about the cottage food industry. In Illinois, the cottage food industry allows individuals to start small by operating a home-based businesses model to produce and sell certain low-risk food products directly to consumers, but not for resale. This allows entrepreneurs to learn food safety practices, test their products, and build a customer base before scaling into a commercial kitchen.