Community Foundation of Carroll County honors Philanthropists of the Year
Over 250 community leaders filled the Portico social hall at St. John Catholic Church early Wednesday morning to honor the recipients of the fifth annual Carroll County Philanthropists of the Year awards.
After a breakfast catered by Harry’s Main Street Grille; master of ceremonies, Wayne Wrightson, of WTTR radio in Westminster brought the ceremonies to order.
The coordinator of this year’s event, Jaclyn Mathias, was seen throughout the morning making sure everything ran smoothly. The table centerpieces arranged by the
Stewart N. Dutterer Flower Shop at the fifth annual Carroll County Philanthropists of the Year awards on October 20, 2010 were done extremely well. It is this attention to detail that makes the annual Philanthropists of the Year so successful.
Among the many introductions, Wrightson gave a special acknowledgment to the sponsors for this year’s ceremonies, Harry Sirinakis of Harry’s Main St. Grill; Lehigh Cement, represented by Mike Fox; Constellation Energy, represented by Mike Fowler.
Also helping sponsor the event were Eileen Gist, Lori Graham, and Jalna Brown of Dutterer’s Florist; Lyndi McNulty of GIZMOS Art; Glenn S. Bair, Support Services, LLC and Martin Hill; and Village Printing and Dean Douglas. “We can’t produce great events like this without the support of involved businesses,” said Wrightson.
In spite of a national economy that continues to lag, local giving in Carroll County appears to be holding it own, according to several folks attending awards ceremony.
An October 17 article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a national non-profit news and information publication located in Washington D.C. recently noted:
“Donations to the nation’s biggest charities dropped 11 percent last year, a decline that was the worst in the two decades since The Chronicle started its
Philanthropy 400 ranking of the organizations that raise the most from private sources…
“The 400 institutions in the survey raised $68.6-billion in 2009. The drop they suffered in contributions was nearly four times as great as the next biggest annual decrease: 2.8 percent in 2001, when charities also struggled to raise money from recession-battered donors.”
According to Cimino, “Beginning with a gift of $60,000 (over fifteen years-ago) from the Estate of Rosa B. Null, a Hampstead,
Maryland resident, the Community Foundation has grown to (over $4 million dollars) in endowments, operations funds, scholarships, and funds managed for other community organizations.
“It is no news to anyone that there are an overwhelming number of organizations and programs now desperately searching for funds. For people with a strong sense of community and personal commitment to make significant contributions to the community in which they live, the choices can be especially demanding.”
Last year, 2009 the recipients were: Family of the Year: Skip and Pat Amass; Business of the Year: Lehigh Cement; Legacy Award: Loring B. Yingling; Non-Profit of the Year: Westminster Lions Club; and Youth of the Year: Chris Anderson.
This year The Community Foundation of Carroll County honored Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bare; the Carroll County Times; the ARC of Carroll County; Msfr. Arthur Valenzano and Josie Grant.
The legacy award recipient was St. John Catholic Church Msgr. Arthur Valenzano who was nominated by Teresa Richardson. Valenzano was the pastor of St. John Church for over 17 years, observed Wrightson.
“During his tenure as pastor, he has taken the St. John community and increased its awareness within the Carroll community,” continued Wrightson.
After a long list of accomplishments and accolades, Wrightson noted that Valenzano has recently moved-on from his responsibilities in Westminster “to take a position as rector of the Basilica of Baltimore.”
This year’s youth award went to Josie Grant, who was nominated by Amy Zepp.
“Josie Grant began her quest to make a difference in the lives of pediatric patients at Carroll Hospital Center in August 2008 for personal and community reasons,” said Wrightson.
“Josie initially contributed $75 of her own money, which was matched by family and friends, to begin her foundation called, “Josie’s Smiles for Pediatrics,” explained Wrightson.
The non-profit recipient this year is The Arc of Carroll County. Wrightson noted that “Webster’s define philanthropy as goodwill to fellowmen, especially in an active effort to promote human welfare.”
As an example of the work that ARC does for our community, Wrightson introduced Jamie Davis, the daughter of Gary Davis, who nominated ARC for this year’s award because of the opportunities that have been made available to Jamie as a result of her training at ARC.
“Jamie is autistic, and is 27-years old,” explained Wrightson. “To her ARC is her job. Six years ago when she started with ARC, we were told that they would first get to know Jamie and based on what they thought she would accomplish, and what was available … they would get her involved. Well, they kept their promise…
They got her a job. She works at the Best Western Hotel in Westminster and she is doing quite well. However, she still thinks that the Ravens are just big men who stay at her hotel once a year…”
The Carroll County Times’ Newspapers in Education (NIE) program was this year’s business award winner. A special fund of the Community Foundation, NIE “supports literacy by offering free newspapers and curriculum guides to all Carroll County schools…” said Wrightson.
“Newspapers and study guides are used to help teach students… throughout Carroll County… During the 2009-2010 school year, NIE provided 622,990 newspapers to students. The program is funded by local businesses,” Wrightson further explained.
The last of the five awards was given to Bob and Ruth Bare of Hampstead for the family philanthropist of the year. Edith Winters, along with a number of individuals and businesses in the community nominated the Bare family.
“Those who know Bob and Ruth know that they are very modest people. They have and continue to donate to many charities and do it anonymously,” said Wrightson. It was also noted that both Ruth and Bob Bare are 87-years-old, which prompted a wave of murmurs throughout the morning audience as the Bares displayed a great deal of youthful vigor as they walked to the front of the room.
“I hope I have that much energy at that age,” observed Sherri Hosfeld Joseph to no one in particular as the Bares approached the podium to receive their award.
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