MOOSEHEART, IL, April 14 -- Scott Hart said he clearly remembers the first time he met Bobby Gilliam and his wife Linda, not long after Gilliam was named Mooseheart's executive director on a frigid Illinois day in late winter of 2000.

"It was probably 10-below and the wind chill was 20-below and they're coming from Waco, TX and I thought, 'there is no way Bobby Gilliam is coming to Mooseheart,' " said Hart, who would ultimately succeed him in the post. "Linda had her coat on the entire dinner."

But the Gilliams came to Mooseheart, and Bobby Gilliam stayed in the position through March 2003. In those three years, he left a lasting impression for his warmth and the manner in which he cared for the children of the Child City.

"One of the great sayings of Bobby Gilliam if you've been around him is, 'I have an incredible grasp of the obvious,'" Hart said. "But Bobby has an incredible grasp for the obvious - and that's that kids come first."

That was the way in which Gilliam approached his 30-year career in residential childcare. In April, Gilliam's career came to a close when he retired from his position as the President and CEO of the Methodist Children's Home in Waco. Gilliam was honored for his service with a Lifetime Achievement Award during the opening sessions at the Coalition for Residential Education (CORE) national conference, which began Wednesday at Mooseheart and continues through Friday at co-host Glenwood School in St. Charles.

Hart said he saw Gilliam's feeling for children constantly. Gilliam named Hart his Assistant Director at Mooseheart in 2001 and Hart succeeded Gilliam as the campus' chief executive in 2003.

"In 2001, we had a bit of a financial crisis at Mooseheart, and there was this debate over the farm and the cows, and the programs that really helped the kids," Hart said. "At the time, Mooseheart had a national prize-winning dairy herd. But Bobby said 'kids come first over cows.' To Bobby, kids came first, they always came first, over cows and other things. He always wanted what was best for the child."

Gilliam accepted the award with humility.

"We loved Mooseheart," he said. "We made relationships that mean everything to me. We grew together."

Gilliam told the members of the CORE conference to "expect greatness from your children."

"You get what you ask for," he said. "Expect the best of them."

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.1 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.