CivicPlus^® Announces 2021 Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award Recognitions

Hannah Cross, who has a creative approach to revitalization challenges, has demonstrated that no matter your age, everyone can make an impact in their community. Hannah gives full credit to Newkirk citizens, who incredibly support young people and their ideas. Her vision started with a simple map (that she created in July of 2017 for a 4H project for the local fair), and has compounded into a full-blown Pathway Project encompassing 7 unique components. These components include beautiful crosswalk art, bicycle path, Newkirk bike share program, Newkirk Story Walk, Pathway Day event, Fitness Path and grant and a Safe Routes to School path.

When I hear the word "volunteer", an image of Mrs. Violet Lentz immediately comes to mind. At 97 years "young", she continues to serve our township like no other….. She immediately started volunteering in the township cemeteries and continues as the role of Sexton…. and Violet continues to serve as Chairman of Elections for the past 74+ years.  Violet has been an asset to her community throughout her entire life and truly inspires others with her dedication to her community.

Peg Dethlefs is more than a Paramedic for the City of Ravenna, her caring spirit and giving heart makes her one of a kind. Peg’s every essence portrays the core value of what EMS is all about, from respect to excellence.  Her caring stretches far and is also the Mayor, Asst. Fire Captain and local School Bus Driver.

Deb first ran for trustee as she described it because “you can complain about something, or you can jump in and try to make a difference.”  She started reading and working with others to come up to speed…… she wrote grants, raised money from residents and produced some of our crown jewels in town.

Chief Krueger has worked tirelessly to improve the department and better protect our community as a whole……the fire protection program is where he truly went above and beyond when he managed to work out a schedule with his full-time employer that allowed him to be off at least one day a week to complete the fire inspections. He even used some of his vacation days from his employer to conduct fire inspections.

She is the most reliable and engaged volunteer on ANY project she is asked to assist and in nearly all cases, she is the "unspoken" chair or director of many subcommittees. She has often says, "just put my name down on any list; you don't need me to sign up; I'll be there and I'll handle whatever needs to be done."  Juanita Pearley focuses on a simple philosophy; "is it the right thing to do for our community?"

Some people talk about volunteering. Debbie actually volunteers and gets the job done. Debbie has contributed greatly to improving Lisbon’s image, which has in turn helped in our economic revival and turnaround. Foot traffic has increased; new businesses have opened, creating jobs. Debbie’s group also started a “yard of the month” award, which has led to friendly competition among the village’s gardeners, and encouraging people to take care of their properties.

Linda Hunt has been an exemplary contributor to the City of Newcastle and the surrounding area for many years. She has been active in providing the community with 'quality of life' interest……. She obtained grants and donation from local organizations, businesses, and individuals……She has provided education for the community in their history.

There is no greater volunteer than Lee Williams, he is an example of the kind of volunteer every agency hopes to have.…. Lee Williams was every year the volunteer that responded to the most calls…..he can be seen teaching CPR to all the nurses and any community members that ask. He consistently does this as a volunteer for the community. He is so dedicated to his community that he has purchased CPR manikins with his own funds to teach with.

Many residents do not have internet access and others, out of fear, remain isolated in their homes. To assist these people, an organization of volunteers was brought together by Town Councilman Roger Coleman to form Edenton Cares. This group then undertook a door to door campaign distributing information on the coronavirus to all 2,200 homes in Edenton as well as to other towns throughout the county. This effort became known as the “Neighbor to Neighbor” program because of its focus on having neighbors look out for one another. The focus of the program was three-fold: providing relevant information to assist people in staying connected; helping people care for themselves; and encouraging people to look out for others.

Middleville would be hard pressed to come up with another volunteer that has given more of themselves than Mike Bremer. His service spills over traditional volunteer service lines. From youth, school, business and church volunteer, he is truly our community’s “super-hero volunteer”! . He believes that, “Good government has its roots in the people, so our goal is to help and serve.”

This Commission is composed of six (6) Garden Ridge citizens selflessly dedicated and passionate about their volunteer capacity as an advisory body to the City Council. The exceptional leaders of this Commission have truly inspired citizens to become more involved in the community and to share their talents to influence positive change…..The Commission has taken the initiative to create a framework promoting citizen engagement that will have a lasting impact throughout our community and make our small town truly “A way of life, not just a place to live”!