The 37th Annual Mayors’ Volunteer Awards were presented by the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley on Tuesday, April 21 at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center. The awards program, which recognizes outstanding volunteers in the Cedar Valley, included a luncheon with 135 attendees. Award categories this year included the Volunteer Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding volunteers regardless of age or years of service. The Outstanding Emerging Volunteer Award, which was open to those age 19-35. And the Lifetime Achievement Award that was open to any nominee with 20+ years of volunteerism in the Cedar Valley. Award criteria included demonstrating excellence in volunteerism in the Cedar Valley and a commitment to serving the community.
The 2015 nominees were: Lyle Andersen, nominated by Cedar Falls Sno Hawks
Snowmobile Club; Richard and Joyce Capps, nominated by Cunningham Elementary
and Waterloo Community Schools; Jim Chapman, nominated by West Central
Neighborhood Association; Judy Ciesielski, nominated by West Central
Neighborhood Association; Sergio Erazo, nominated by Cedar Valley Catholic
Schools; Fran Fuller, nominated by St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Worker House;
Melody Good, nominated by Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity; Jim Grandon,
nominated by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa; Martha Hansen,
nominated by Western Home Communities; Skye Houchin, nominated by Wheaton
Franciscan Healthcare; Howard Hughes, nominated by Northeast Iowa Food Bank;
Ben Jacobson, nominated by Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar Valley; Elizabeth
Miller, nominated by Cedar Falls Woman’s Club; Yvonne Othmer, nominated by
LifeServe Blood Center; Mike Pipho, nominated by Black Hawk County Extension
and Outreach; Dana Shaver, nominated by Boys and Girls Clubs of the Cedar
Valley; Erica Sires, nominated by Blue Zones Project; Irv Tiller, nominated by
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare; Katlyn Trumm, nominated by Boys and Girls Clubs
of the Cedar Valley; Betty Wexter, nominated by Allen Hospital; Marty Wylie,
nominated by Cedar Valley Hospice.
Each of the 12 Mayors’ Volunteer Award winners was escorted to the stage
by a member of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber Ambassadors. This
year’s winners are as follows:
Volunteer Award:
Fran Fuller
Fran Fuller is a dedicated volunteer,
volunteering her time at the Catholic Worker House for the past 6 years.
Fran helps provide hospitality, food
and shelter for those in need in the community. She lives the Catholic Worker
philosophy; especially in believing in each person’s worth and sharing what you
have.
Fran treats each person that comes to
the house with dignity and respect and welcomes those that come for community
meals and those who need overnight shelter. She touches many with her care,
kindness, and humor!
Fran’s dedication to Catholic Worker
House is what makes her worthy of a Mayors’ Volunteer Award.
Mike Pipho
Mike Pipho is an individual that is
very passionate about his volunteer work.
In 2014, Mike led an effort that
resulted in a significant county-wide effort to collect food for the Northeast
Iowa Food Bank during the Black Hawk County Fair last July. Ten Black Hawk
County clubs collected over 536 pound of canned food, the equivalent of 447
meals.
He also coaches the First Tech
Challenge team. He meets with them weekly during the fall and early winter.
Mike also leads a very active 4-H club, where his club members are active and
frequent winners of awrads and scholarships.
His biggest contribution as a 4-H
leader is his engagement with the annual fruit sale. He does all the promotion,
ordering, and sorting.
Mike’s generosity and commitment to
Black Hawk County Extension and Outreach is why he is awarded with a Mayors’
Volunteer Award.
Richard and Joyce Capps
Richard and Joyce Capps are a
phenomenal duo. They are able to share their passion for education by
volunteering their time at Cunningham School in Waterloo.
Since 2003, Richard and Joyce have
logged approximately 1,000 volunteer hours a year at the school. The Capps team
helps coordinate the school’s collection of Hy-Vee receipts for the Cash 4
Students program along with Box Tops for Education and Milk Moola. From
2008-2014, Cunningham School placed in the top 5 for the Cash 4 Students
program. Two of those years they received first place!
From this program and the hard work of
Richard and Joyce, Cunningham School has received $24,992.92 since 2008. The Capps’
will do anything for the students of Cunningham and help out in any way
possible.
Richard and Joyce are a great duo who
are quite deserving of a Mayors’ Volunteer Award!
Sergio ErazoSergio Erazo has made outstanding
contributions to the Cedar Valley Catholic Schools as a volunteer for 12 years
volunteering daily for four hours or more.
Some of Sergio’s volunteer work
includes cooking meals for homeless individuals and packing lunches for
missions to be sent overseas. He is always looking for new opportunities and
does so without ever asking for recognition.
He has a great sense of humor and
always has a smile on his face. Sergio is an inspiration to all and an
excellent role model for his children in demonstrating how to give back to the
community.
Sergio’s efforts to give back to the
Cedar Valley Catholic Schools are what make him a Mayors’ Volunteer Award
recipient.
Marty Wylie
Marty Wylie has volunteered for the
Cedar Valley Hospice since 2010.
She couldn’t wait to return the gift of
compassion after her family was cared for by Cedar Valley Hospice. In 2014, she
volunteered 88 hours at the Hospice Home, which was way above the average.
As part of their “No One Dies Alone”
team, Marty was called on New Year’s Eve to sit with a dying patient because
they had no family there. Marty went right away, never questioning it, and say
bedside for five hours.
Her commitment to their mission is
steadfast and her heart is made of gold. The gift of her time
spent with the organization’s patients
and families is truly priceless.
Marty’s many selfless acts as a
volunteer at Cedar Valley Hospice are what makes her deserving of a Mayors’
Volunteer Award.
Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes has been an active volunteer
with the Northeast Iowa Food Bank for thirty-one years! This is longer than
most staff members!
Howard originally started at the food
bank riding along with his dad, who was a volunteer driver in 1983. After his
dad retired, Howard stayed and continued to volunteer, riding with truck
drivers. Howard rode with one driver traveling over 550 miles in three days,
helping with the Back Pack Program and food rescue.
Howard’s current volunteer duties
include helping to stock shelves in Agency Shopping and cleaning and sorting
donated items in the Clean and Sort room. After all these years, Howard still
has a beaming smile, a helpful hand, many friends, and standing lunch dates
with other volunteers and staff every week.
Howard’s compassion, commitment, and enthusiasm
of selflessly helping the food bank are what make him deserving of a Mayors’
Volunteer Award.
Elizabeth Miller
Elizabeth Miller is an outstanding
member of the Woman’s Club. She is involved in many aspects of the Club.
Liz has donated her leadership skills
by serving as an officer at many levels and on many committees. She is
presently a member of the Clubhouse Committee. This committee is responsible
for assisting in overseeing the operation of the dining room and kitchen. Liz
has often substituted as a cook for the day, when the chef was absent.
The Cedar Falls Woman’s Club had an
extensive restoration project and Liz was among the members who made person
contacts to secure funds. She also did some of the outside painting to
eliminate some of the costs of the restoration. Along with painting, she is
also a Master Gardener. She shares her gardening skills on the Club grounds and
organizes most of the work that is done.
She is willing to help everyone is
anyway possible, which is what makes her a Mayors’ Volunteer Award recipient.
Jim Grandon
Jim Grandon began his volunteer work
with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa in 2008 as a mentor.
Jim has gone above and beyond his
expectations as a mentor. When Jim was originally paired with his student, they
met at school once a week. This friendship grew to continue seeing each other
during the summer break. Today, Jim and his mentee still meet every week in
school, as well as frequent visits outside of school.
They continue to focus on the mentee’s
homework, but also enjoy grabbing a hamburger, working on household projects,
and attending UNI games. Jim also can be found in the bleachers cheering on his
mentee at his own athletic events.
Jim has taught his mentee several life
lessons along the way. Big Brothers Big Sisters acknowledges the great effort
and consistency Jim exhibits and is grateful for his volunteer service.
It is clear to see that Jim’s visits
with his mentee have made a great impact, which is why Jim Grandon is deserving
of a Mayors’ Volunteer Award.
Outstanding Emerging Volunteer Award:
Dana Shaver
Dana Shaver has been a mentor at the
Boys and Girls Club for about 2.5 years. Each week he comes in to spend time
with the young man he is matched up with at the Club.
When meeting with his mentee, Dana
spends some time working on homework and the rest of the time they spend
playing a variety of games and having fun. He is a consistent volunteer, who
hardly misses a day coming to meet with his mentee. He also attends several of
the mentor events throughout the year.
Dana has one goal with his mentorship;
he wants to make a difference. He comes into the Club with a smile and leaves
with a smile, no matter if his time with his mentee was easy or a little
difficult that day.
Dana’s strong commitment, enthusiasm,
and hard work are what make him deserving of a Mayors’ Outstanding Emerging
Volunteer Award.
Skye Houchin
Skye Houchin is a full time student the
University of Northern Iowa and began volunteering with Wheaton Franciscan
Healthcare in the fall of 2013.
Her first experience was in the
pediatrics department where she worked with volunteer services. The volunteer
program was still being developed when she joined. This program became
successful quickly and Skye’s contribution of time and talent was instrumental.
She also helped nurses on the pediatrics floor and the pediatric manager. She
then added volunteering in the Emergency Department as a patient care advocate.
Skye now works at the Covenant Medical Center Emergency Room and volunteers.
Skye has also spent time volunteering
after the F5 tornado hit Parkersburg in 2008 and continues to look for
opportunities to assist others. In 2011, she volunteered for a local program
that works with Burmese refugees living in Waterloo. She helped them schedule
doctors’ appointments, take them to appointments, and other daily tasks.
Her willingness to serve others is what
has earned Skye the Mayors’ Outstanding Emerging Volunteer Award.
Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award:
Irv Tiller
Shortly after retiring, Irv Tiller
began volunteering at Sartori Memorial Hospital. Irv has been a part of the
Cedar Valley for about 70 years and you can find him volunteering his time all
over the community.
You can see Irv as a medical runner
twice a month at the hospital and participating in special events on behalf of
the hospital such as at Sturgis Falls and May Breakfast.
First United Methodist in Cedar Falls
is where Irv started ushering and has continued to do so for 45 years. He
enjoys all duties he has committed to at the Church including counting money
and serving community meals. Irv has taken the opportunity to participate in a
mission trip to Kentucky and traveled to assist in the aid given after
Hurricane Katrina in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Irv continues to give back to the Cedar
Valley community and his wife jokes that she needs to make an appointment to
see him, but Irv says he does save Friday’s for his wife. This man is, without
a doubt, deserving of a Mayors’ Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Award.
Betty Wexter
Betty Wexter has been a lifelong
resident of Waterloo. Her dedication to service and care for others is an
inspiration for all.
She has served many years on the Allen
School of Nursing Alumni Board of Directors. She has also been involved with
the Allen Hospital Auxiliary serving on the Board of Directors for 10 years.
The Auxiliary, under her influence has provided many valuable contributions to
Allen Hospital and the community.
Betty has also made valuable
contribution to other agencies in the community as well. She served as a Girl
Scout leader for many years, was a Boys and Girls Club volunteer, and is
involved with her church.
Each week Betty can be found at the
Allen Hospital Gift Shop where she kindly greets shoppers and helps them find
the perfect gift.
Betty’s caring heart and willingness to
give back to the community is why she is deserving of a Mayors’ Lifetime
Achievement Volunteer Award.
Congratulations Volunteers!
