| Three
Citizens Honored for Volunteerism |
By Leah M. Burfield
Observer Staff Writer |
| Three volunteers were recognized for their hard work within
the town during the 22nd Annual Mayor's Volunteer Appreciation
Night which was held Sunday, April 23 at the Herndon Harbor
House. |
| Citizens joined Herndon Mayor Michael L. O'Reilly and members
of the Town Council in celebrating the spirit of volunteerism
in the Town. |
| "The quality of life here in Herndon is due in no small
part to the efforts of volunteers in our community,"
said O'Reilly. "We salute them, we honor them - and,
most importantly, we thank them for their service." |
| Three citizens were honored with Distinguished Service Awards
for the services that they bring to the town. |
| The Herndon residents honored with the Mayor's highest award
included Gary Gepford, a teacher at Herndon High School, who
was honored for being most renowned for his environmental
program at the school, Students Against Global Abuse (SAGA).
|
| Over the past decade Gepford has devoted thousands of hours
- more than 1,000 hours in 2005 alone - collecting and recycling
white paper, turning profits of more than $200,000 into scholarships
for students. |
| Gepford was recently certified as a volunteer ESOL (English
as a Second Language) teacher and spends Saturday mornings
teaching English to newly arrived immigrants in the community.
|
| Gepford is a representative to the community advisory board
for the Herndon Official Workers Center, is active in local
scout activities and is a founder and participant in the Excel
Saturday morning tutoring program at Herndon Elementary School. |
| "A surprise is an understatement, I had no idea,"
Gepford said. "I think it's a great thing that there
are so many volunteers in this town. This is a community that
helps itself. No one sits back and complains, they role up
their sleeves and are ready to help. Everybody is involved
and that is one nice thing about this community." |
| Gepford said that he was very humbled to receive the award.
The list is very long and there were a lot of people on it
that did not get recognized said Gepford. |
| Betty Hatfield was also honored with the Distinguished Service
Award for being a primary force behind the creation of Promote
Herndon, a group of citizen volunteers dedicated to the promotion
of the Town as an ideal place in which to live, work and visit. |
| According to the Mayor, Hatfield has spent countless hours
leading and motivating the group toward its mission. |
| She serves as the town's liaison to the national Main Street
program and was instrumental in the Town's affiliation with
the program. She was integrally involved in the evolution
and establishment of the Herndon Downtown Alliance. |
| Grace Wolf was the third person to accept the award. An
owner of two small businesses in Herndon, Wolf is an active
member of several community and civic organizations, including
the Council for the Arts of Herndon (CAH). |
| Currently, Wolf is president of the CAH Board of Directors
and under her leadership, has developed and implemented innovative
new programming, increased youth scholarships and created
new relationships to bring quality arts programming to Herndon. |
| Wolf is the key chairperson for several of CAH's biggest
events to include Taste of the Town, National Youth Art Month
Celebration and the Children's Hands-On Art Area at the Herndon
Festival. |
| "I was very surprised," Wolf said. "There
was a very long list of distinguished names of people who
have volunteered in the town. I think everyone should volunteer
whenever they can. It's what makes Herndon a great place to
live." |
| In addition to the volunteer awards, Sen. Janet Howell and
Del. Tom Rust were on hand to present a resolution from the
General Assembly. |
| Recognizing that "Mayor O'Reilly has served Herndon
in divisive times and has worked to keep the community together
through his unwavering leadership," the resolution commends
the mayor and serves as "an expression of the General
Assembly's gratitude for his leadership and valuable service
to the citizens of Herndon." |
| The Mayor's Volunteer Appreciation Night is held annually
in conjunction with National Volunteer Week, which is sponsored
nationwide by the Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center
National Network. |
