The Rockford Register Star’s Excalibur Award is given to an individual for community service and excellence and for making a difference in the Rock River Valley. The Excelsior Award goes to an organization for doing the same. Mustafa Abdall is an Excalibur finalist.
Name: Mustafa Abdall
Occupation: Lincoln Middle School teacher
About the nominee: Mustafa Abdall teaches English as a second language and has been instrumental in helping hundreds of immigrants acclimate to life in Rockford. Earlier this year he was recognized as one of the Rockford Register Star s 2020 People to Watch.
Abdall also is founder of Winnebago Emerging Small Business Services, an organization that focuses on providing support to bilingual and multicultural entrepreneurs. In October, he and his business partner, Moe Allen, took ownership of Ronit s Kitchen, an Indoor City Market restaurant at 116 N. Madison St. and renamed it Guzel, which means beautiful in Turkish.