2010 Spirit of Dutchess County Awards

2010 Spirit of Dutchess Awards Honored
19 Individuals, 7 groups of golunteers at annual breakfast
  5 Nominees Received $1,000 Grants for Nonprofit Agencies of Choice

19 individuals and 7 groups, including one youth group, who make our community a better place in which to live through volunteerism were saluted Wednesday at the 2010 Spirit of Dutchess County Awards breakfast at the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel.

Individuals honored were: Kara Brinkerhoff, John Brockway, Peter Carr, Joseph J. DeVirgilio Jr., Mara Farrell, Tina Hadden, Barbara Kaiser, Karen Kosack, Chip McElroy, Linda Melton Mann, Dana Park, Thomas Polakowski, Jennie Poldomani, Rob J. Ranieri Jr., Sara Rockwell, Fred Schaeffer, Mary Souser, Beth Walsh Thorn, and Lillian Youngbluth.

Groups saluted were: Christina Hirsch and Third Thursday Luncheon Committee of the Church of the Messiah in Rhinebeck; the Dutchess Community College Student Government; Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Energy group; House of Hope volunteers Barbara Hahn Perosky and Irene Zito; Members of the Vineyard Community Church in Hopewell Junction; and Mid-Hudson Bereaved Parents of the USA. The Youth Group honored was the Senior Girl Scout Troop 15 and its leader Debbie St. Onge.

All nominations for individuals and groups were made online by members of the community.

Five of the nominees were then selected to receive $1,000 grants for nonprofit organizations of their choice that are helping to provide basic needs, promote financial stability or prepare young children for success. The grants, which reflect United Way’s areas of focus, will be awarded and recipients announced following the event. Three were chosen through votes cast online and two were selected by a jury of community volunteers.

The nominees who received grants, how they were selected and the benefiting organization are: in the Group Category, the Members of the Vineyard Community (jury) for its food pantry and Mid-Hudson Parents of the USA (online) for its organization; in the Individual Category, Karen Kosack (online) for the Hudson Valley Autism Society and Chip McElroy (jury) for The Ryan McElroy Children’s Cancer Foundation. The Youth Group selected was the Senior Girl Scout Troop 15 (online) for Dutchess Outreach. The grants were presented by United Way of Dutchess County Board of Governors Chair Sheila Appel and Hands On! The Hudson Valley Board Chair Regina Neff.

A matching grant of $1,000 to the Hudson Valley Autism Society was awarded by Central Hudson, Kosack’s employer. It was presented to her by Denise Doring VanBuren, the company’s Corporate Secretary and Vice President of Corporate Communications

“These volunteers are unsung heroes who give selflessly of their time and talent to meet the needs of our community,” said Anne M. Beaulieu, President and CEO of United Way of Dutchess County.

 Take a look at the 2010 nominees.