PORT ANGELES — Friends, admirers and business associates are invited to a reception tonight where seven community heroes will be honored with the Clallam County Community Service Award for 2013.
The award honors the “dedication, sacrifice and accomplishments” of community leaders and volunteers “who have made a difference in Clallam County, who have made our communities a better place by doing extraordinary things for their neighbors, their community or the environment.”
The honorees are:
■ Leo Campbell, a retired Marine Corps major who has led Port Angeles High School’s NJROTC — Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps — by example since 2003 and has poured thousands of service hours into the Port Angeles community, both as an individual and through inspiring the students of the NJROTC unit.
■ Thelma McCoy, an accomplished pianist who has given not only her talents to the North Olympic Peninsula’s musical community but also her skill and passion as a teacher to hundreds of aspiring musicians.
■ Venay Money, a spirited and dedicated advocate for veterans across Clallam County who has spent the past 25 years making sure those who have served our country in war are respected, honored and thanked.
■ Chuck Preble, a tireless organizer, engineer and “boots on the ground” dynamo who has for years led efforts to build and extend the Olympic Discovery Trail.
■ Shawnna and Dan Rigg, a dynamic duo in Sequim whose passion for lending a hand compels them into myriad arenas of community service.
■ Janet Young, whose dogged enthusiasm and tenacity took her all the way to Olympia to secure money to build the Peninsula’s first fully functional Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant playground in Shane Park, named for her son, who died of injuries suffered there when it was being constructed in 1973.
This is the 34th year of the award, begun by the Peninsula Daily News and now co-sponsored with Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Noon Club.
Free, open to public
The seven recipients will receive framed award certificates at a reception that begins tonight in the downstairs meeting room at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 E. Lopez Ave. in Port Angeles, at 6:30 p.m.
The reception is open to the public and will include beverages and special desserts.
Admission is free.
A judging committee that included a past Community Service Award recipient selected the seven from 32 nominations made by individuals, clubs, churches, businesses and other organizations.
“These are truly local heroes, working to make community life stronger, tighter, happier, richer — busy people who unselfishly give their time and energy to help others, who always seem to be able to make time to offer a hand or a shoulder,” said John Brewer, PDN editor and publisher.
