Two workers who lost their lives on the job to be honored at Champaign park memorial

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The Champaign community is coming together this Sunday to honor two local workers who lost their lives while on the job.

Both Brandon Hardway, aged 45, and Kevin Pellum, aged 40, will be recognized in the ceremony, taking place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at Dodds Park in Champaign. Their names will be added to the park’s memorial.

Hardway was the General Manager at Pour Bros. Craft Taproom in downtown Champaign. In February earlier this year while on a break outside the bar, he was shot and killed.

Friends, family honor Brandon Hardway with celebration of life

Pellum was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 51. in 2000, he was driving between job sites in Macon County when he was killed.

“These two young men were taken from their friends and families far too soon,” said Kevin Sage, President of the East Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council. “It is important that we honor their memories, as we remember all of those who have lost their lives while on the job.”

Pellum’s brother, George Pellum, played an important role in establishing the memorial at Dodds Park during its construction in 2002.

“It means so much for someone to say we remember him and we recognize this tragedy,” George Pellum said.

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Friends and family of both Hardway and Pellum will be at the ceremony, as well as elected officials and local union leaders who will give presentations.

The ceremony is part of a larger celebration taking place across the country called Worker’s Memorial Day as a remembrance for workers who have passed away from work-related injuries or illnesses.

The memorial day has been observed for more than 50 years since the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect.

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