Wednesday, May 28, 2003
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Wednesday, May 28, 2003 |
United Way honors volunteers of the yearBy MICHAEL
BOYLAN
The United Way recently held a ceremony at the Fayette County Public Library honoring their Volunteers of the Year in both the adult and the teen categories. Maribeth Nolan, a Starr's Mill High School student, received the Crystal Angle Youth Volunteer of the Year Award. Nolan, the daughter of Tom and Debra Nolan, started new programs for excpetional children and teen worship at Holy Trinity Catholic Church and is active in a number of organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, Teen Pro-Life Group, Beta Club, Mustard Seed Community and the American Red Cross among others. Nolan plans on becoming a missionary after graduation from college. The other nominee for the Crystal Angel Award was Fayette County High School student Jessica Padgett. Padgett, a member of the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra, developed and formed the church orchestra and arranged music for the flute choir. She is the daughter of Duncan and Toni Padgett. "These young people are angels to this community. They show a committment that is well beyond their years," said Jason Thompson of Slade and Associates and United Way Volunteerism Committee Chair. He went on to state that the girls were separated by one point when scored by an objective committee. The Francis Reeves Community Service Award went to Stephen Weeman, a local resident who has been involved with the Fayette County Youth Soccer League since its beginnings in 1977. That year there were 40 childen playing soccer in the league. Today there are over 1,500 players in the league. Weeman also designed and obtained funding for indoor soccer, started the Select Soccer program in 1984 and was inducted in the Georgia Soccer Hall of Fame in 2000. He is involved with Fayette United Methodist Church, recieved the Eastern Airlines Service Award and is president of the Soccer Center. Other residents nominated for this award were Connie Haynes, a wildlife rehabilitator active with the Girl Scouts; Dianne Hood, a volunteer at Sara Harp Minter Elementary and PTO Volunteer team leader; Carolyn Phillips, a volunteer with the Fayette County Diabetes Association; Tina Scarbrough, a volunteer with Fayette County Board of Education; Joan Sords, a literacy tutor at Oak Grove Elementary School; Amy Steffan, a mentor who created "Battle of the Books"; Meloni Thompson, a volunteer at Sara Harp Minter and PTO President; Creighton Warren, a volunteer for Fayette Senior Services and Richard Williams, a mentor in both Coweta and Fayette school systems and the one who established the mentoring component of Theta Lambda Fraternity. Francis Reeves has been active in the community for over 25 years. She was behind the formation of Fayette Senior Services and was involved with the 4-H Club, and the Human Services Council as well as the United Way of Fayette County and other community programming. She is still an active member with the AARP, the Fayette County Historical Society, Fayette Senior Services and the Human Services Council. "She is a true heroine, one to whom we can look for inspiration," said Thompson. "Those adults who were nominated for this award follow in her footsteps in giving us heroes we can admire."
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