PORT ANGELES — Nikki McGoff of Port Angeles will spend her 17th birthday with the governor today and throw out the first pitch at a Seattle Mariners game on Tuesday.
The Port Angeles High School sophomore is being honored this week for her volunteer work with the North Olympic Youth Corps and Clallam County Teen Court.
McGoff has volunteered roughly 350 hours this school year alone.
She and 48 others from Washington — including Eleanor Tschimperle of Port Angeles and Mike Marson of Port Townsend — will receive the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award in Olympia today.
Gov. Chris Gregoire has proclaimed this week as Washington Volunteer Recognition Week and will present the sixth annual awards.
“I urge all citizens to join me in recognizing and supporting those who volunteer and serve,” Gregoire said in a prepared statement.
Field of 49
McGoff was selected out of all the recipients to throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Tuesday before the Mariners host the Baltimore Orioles at 47,116-capacity Safeco Field.
The festivities are part of the M’s Salute to Volunteers Night.
“I first found out about the award three weeks ago,” McGoff said.
“Last week, I was in Washington, D.C., and I found out about the pitch. I’m super, super excited.”
Before the game, the award recipients will gather with Northwest Food Bank and Mariners officials for a volunteer project.
The M’s are hosting a panel on the importance of service and volunteerism with KIRO radio personality Dave Ross leading the discussion.
All 49 award winners will be recognized before the Mariners take the field. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
“I guess they were looking at all they recipients and chose me,” McGoff said.
“I’m so excited. I can’t wait.”
No fastball
McGoff’s brother, Damon, 12, and her parents, Chandra and Dave McGoff, either play or have played baseball. Although the sport runs in her family, Nikki McGoff admits that she doesn’t have much of a fastball.
“I don’t play very well,” she said.
Nikki McGoff was visiting the nation’s capital with the high school band when she got the news about the first pitch.
Her mother, Chandra, brought a baseball home to help her daughter practice.
“It’s hard to believe,” Chandra McGoff said of the award.
Nearly three dozen friends and family are expected to make the trip to the baseball game, Chandra McGoff said.
“I know she’s nervous,” she said.
“She is not a sporty kid.”
Ace pitcher or not, Chandra McGoff couldn’t be more proud of her daughter.
She said her daughter is academically gifted and very busy. She said the award makes her feel “like I did something right with her.”
“I’m a very proud mom,” Chandra McGoff said.
“She’s worked very hard for it. She’s a busy girl. I don’t know how she does it all.”
A busy schedule
In the North Olympic Youth Corps, teens work on random projects like litter cleanups and gardening.
Last summer, McGoff and her peers cleaned up some 600 pounds of used fireworks.
They also help run local events like Winterfest. Other activities include a school beautification project, winter clothing drive, free hot-meal program, Earth Day fair and other service events.
“We try to do everything we can,” Nikki McGoff said.
Teen court is a diversion program for first-time juvenile offenders charged with misdemeanors in Clallam County. It’s similar to regular court, but the prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and juries are teens like McGoff who volunteer their time.
Trials, mock trials and teen court practice takes place on Wednesdays at Clallam County Juvenile Services Detention Facility in Port Angeles.
“I have so much fun connecting with a lot of people in the program and outside of the program,” Nikki McGoff said.
In addition to her volunteer work, Nikki McGoff is involved in school leadership, Future Business Leaders of America and Distributive Education Clubs of America. She also manages various sports teams at the high school and participates in a youth mentorship program at a transitional housing complex.
“I told her she needs to drop a couple of things,” Chandra McGoff recalled.
“But it hasn’t been a problem for her.”
In the classroom, Nikki McGoff takes honors courses and maintains a 3.6 grade-point average.
Peninsula honorees
Tschimperle, 91, is the treasurer of the Port Angeles Senior Center and Clallam County Historical Society. She also sits on the city’s Parks, Recreation and Beautification Commission.
A lifelong volunteer from one of Clallam County’s pioneer families, Tschimperle said her family has always been active in volunteerism.
“This is something we’ve always done,” Tschimperle said.
Marson, who retired after a 35-year career with the U.S. Postal Service in 2003, was not available for comment on Sunday.
Nikki McGoff was in middle school when she started volunteering. She said she enjoys giving back to a community that has given her so much.
After high school, she plans to enroll at a four-year college like Western Washington University and study business, law and computer technology.
“Nicole is an exemplary model of a youth volunteer,” said Debbie Schuffenhauer, associate director of the Washington Commission for National and Community Service.
“We hope that Washington Volunteer Recognition Week will motivate others to volunteer their time and talent to help their fellow residents through the economic crisis,” said Bill Basl, executive director of the commission.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
