Navigation

Time – It’s About How You Spend It

“There’s no more generous act than giving your time. Money, you can make more of it, but time is a very finite item for each of us, and we can spend it wisely or we can spend it foolishly, but it will spend all the same.”

Grace Rossman of Thrivent Financial, one of the 12th Annual Golden Heart Volunteer Celebration Award presenters, put into words exactly what the evening was about – volunteers who choose to spend their time helping individuals and organizations and who place the needs of others above their own.

Billed as the “feel good event of the year,” it’s easy to see why. More than 350 people who have made volunteering a priority in their lives surround you. You hear their stories of why they started volunteering, why they continue and, most importantly, what volunteering has done for them.

Most volunteers will tell you what they get back from their service is far more than what they give and while the people they serve may argue the point, their stories are what inspire us to do more and be better. They make us “feel good” about the community we live in and realize, as the saying goes, “You make a living by what you get but you make a life by what you give.”

In addition to all of those we honor, I also know there are far more people behind the scenes who have never been “recognized” for their service. So, to all of you out there who prefer to “fly under the radar,” thank you. Thank you for doing what needs to be done and for dropping everything at a moment’s notice to help those who need it. You all have “golden hearts.”

And to all of the 2014 Golden Heart honorees, thank you for letting us celebrate you and share your stories. If you see any of these folks around town, take a moment to thank them, as our thanks shouldn’t end after one night.

For more information on the Volunteer Center and its Golden Heart Volunteer Celebration, visit volunteerdoorcounty.com, call 920.746.7704 or email [email protected].

Congratulations to the 2014 Golden Heart honorees and recipients (*), listed below.

Adult Golden Heart Honorees: Ted & Dee Chaudoir, Wayne & Diane Cornette, Barbara Dunlap, Terry & Pam Goode, Pat Heller, Kris Husby-Nelson*, Nancy Kexel-Calabresa, Steven & Melissa Kugel, Joan Schultz, Shirley Senarighi and Jenny Walker.

Arts & Culture Honorees: Jocelyn Barnes, Door County Maritime Museum Wooden Boat Building Class Instructors, Joan Guasta, Pete & Carol Schuster, Sandra Stetler and Dianne Trenchard*.

Environmental Stewardship Honorees: Door County Land Trust Preserve Stewards Bill Utley & Steve Wilke, and the Recycling Volunteers of Habitat for Humanity*.

Group Honorees: Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Southern Door High School, Birch Creek Associates, Christ Child Society, Door County Humane Society Volunteers, Door-Tran Volunteer Transportation Drivers*, Neighbor-to-Neighbor Medical Equipment Loan Volunteers, Pirates in the Harbour, and the Brian Stephens Family.

Youth Scholarship Recipients: Josie Kielar, Southern Door; Samantha Moeller, Sturgeon Bay; and Kylie Straub, Gibraltar.

Lifetime of Service Honorees: Inge Bacon*, Cassie Cibik-Moeller, Nancy Hutchinson, and Barb & John McCormick.