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Acceptance Remarks 2002 AVA Awards RecipientsSuzanne Lawson, CVA � Harriet Naylor Distinguished Member Service AwardI am deeply honoured and somewhat amazed to be here receiving this remarkable award from my colleagues in AVA. Much gratitude needs to go to my nominators who had more insight than I, to my mentors within this organization and elsewhere who have nurtured and challenged me over the years, to my family who have understood all along that my living in this profession meant a somewhat non-traditional life for them, and to the various organizations where my professional skills have been allowed to flourish. AVA has been a professional touchstone for me since the early 1980�s�a place where my current thinking was always challenged, a superb certification process that legitimized expertise and experience, a gathering where mentors became friends and friendships deepened. After much initial awkwardness, AVA has, over time, been able to provide a nurturing home for a Canadian with a funny accent who was committed to good �pro-cess�, not �praw-cess�, to an executive director as �one of us�, not �one of them�. I�m profoundly grateful for these significant changes in my home base of AVA. My life in the profession of volunteer administration, in both its salaried and unsalaried versions, has been an attempt to live with the paradox of servant-leadership. For me, both a theology and a statement of values, servant-leadership has proven to be an ever-present intellectual and emotional puzzle and a driving vision of what the world could be. Servant-leadership has taken me, a compulsive leader, and frequently shaken me up to ensure that the leading makes others� lives better, that deeply listening and actively responding to others creates a better path forward. And, as a student of the voluntary sector writ large, I�ve also learned that voluntary organizations can also be servant-leaders. By following this central motif, they can change peoples� lives for the better and make a corner of the world a better place. Members of AVA, our now honoured profession, are so privileged to be in a position where serving and leading can come together. Living in the centre of that paradox, living indeed in the hyphen that holds those two roles together, is what we are all called to do. Our world requires us to be in the forefront of those leaders who are committed to serving. Thank you again for allowing me to be associated with the name and legacy of Harriet Naylor, as well as the extraordinary people in our profession who are previous winners. It�s downright humbling! David Meacham � Volunteer Administrator of the Year AwardIt is a real honor to be AVA�s Volunteer Administrator of the Year. Thank you AVA. I am privileged to have as mentors and friends Susan Ellis, Betty Stallings, Rhoda White and the other AVA members, who have always been so generous to me. Helping me, caring for me, and guiding me. Thank you so much. I am just plain lucky to have had so many wonderful, hard working, intelligent and inspiring co-workers and friends. Ann Tubbs, Susan Price, Cindy Ashley, Judy Tabb, Chris Sorensen, Mary Shallenberger, Esperanza Garcia Walters, Janet Landon, Stephanie Linder, Beatriz Cruz, the steering committee of the Planned Parenthood Network of Volunteer Advocates, and the Volunteer Department of the Gay Men�s Health Crisis. I hope that you all know that this award is yours too. Thank you. I am an agnostic, but I do know what people mean when they say something is a blessing. It�s the giving, caring, loving, pushing and struggling from volunteers each day to build a better world. It�s meeting so many ordinary people and having the opportunity to learn how extraordinary they truly are. It�s understanding that the most precious human gifts of time and energy are given freely. And witnessing the giving of these gifts � of volunteering, sometimes in very dramatic and heroic situations, but mostly in quiet unassuming circumstances � is a blessing. In these times of war mongering, and religious, racial, ethnic and every other intolerance brewing, it is quite profound to be able to say that I believe in the goodness of all people. I can say that because of volunteers and volunteerism. I see it and feel it. I have been blessed by my work with volunteers and I hope that you have too. Thank you for recognizing me. KPMG Employee Volunteer Program, "Involve" � Distinguished Service Award
KPMG is truly honored to be receiving this award
from the Association for Volunteer Administration. It clearly
demonstrates that KPMG's employees care about their communities and it is
because of our employees and their dedication to community service that we
are Through our Involve Program and its support of our people's interests, the firm's partners, employees and alumni have greater access to carry out their personal vision of volunteerism. Involve's mission is to enable KPMG members to live out our core values - including "Leaders Who Serve," "Teamwork and Collaboration," and "Continuous Learning and Active Sharing"- by building a culture of corporate citizenship and of opportunities, time, and resources for those members to make a real and positive impact on our communities through service. Our network of 85 offices throughout KPMG's six U.S. areas manage their local Involve programs by supporting the charitable interests of their own employees, as well as by joining in on a number of national initiatives. If Involve is successful, it is because of the dedication and enthusiasm that our people show every day towards making our world just a little bit better. We appreciate AVA's acknowledgement of our efforts, and in turn, thank AVA for all it does to support those of us who work with this distinctive and irreplacable class of people - volunteers! Nancy Gaston, CVA � Distringuished Service AwardWhen I mentioned this award in an email to a friend, the question came back: �Is there a monetary prize?� I replied that the prize is a rich one, paid in the coin of the realm. This realm, the profession of volunteer administration, mints huge quantities of currency�social currency. Its denominations include a shared vision of a civil society, a belief in human possibilities, a passion for inclusiveness, generosity of spirit, a light touch, and attention to the individual. Several colleagues demonstrated their generous spirits by spending the time and care to nominate me. I thank them all. Over the decades, colleagues have enriched me. They have challenged, informed, inspired, mentored, and given me opportunities to lead and to serve. The profession and this association have compensated me immeasurably. As we collectively work for professional recognition and its well-deserved rewards of more dollars and pesos, euros and yen, I hope we continue to produce and value the coin of this realm, lest we become rich in things and poor in spirit. May we remember that �professional� is not synonymous with �impersonal,� that our colleagues� successes empower rather than diminish us, and that strength in numbers does not mean reducing persons to statistics. If we maintain our vision and nurture our passion, then the coin of our realm, so evident in this awards process, will continue to bless us�and the whole world. Thank you. Raffael Montenotte � Distinguished Service AwardI am here today because of a telephone call. In 1989 a close friend told me that he was HIV positive. I could not even get him to attend a support group because of the stigma around AIDS. After his passing, I decided to do something to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. As a Gay Latino, I knew this was something that would directly impact me. I started as a volunteer in the Buddy program. AIDS affects all of us. Today more than ever information and education must be a top priority. Our children are growing up in an environment where they are not getting a clear message about HIV/AIDS. This must change. We must do everything possible to deliver a message that encompasses everyone, with sensitivity and respect. When I received the letter from AVA, the first thing that came into my mind was my friend, and many others before him, and after him. I felt sad and happy. I cried. I felt, "I would rather have them all here, then receive this award." The love of my family, friends and co-workers (Jelka Jonker and Jim Williams) inspired me to make some very difficult choices in my life. Today, the Buddy Programs of APLA have been serving men, women and children for over 20 years. I am proud to be a part of them, and I thank you for this award. Marlene Wilson � Lifetime AVA MemberWe, in this room, are often considered to be the experts on recognition and affirmation. We teach about it, write about it � and do it with our own volunteers. My friend, Betty Stallings, says recognition should entail the three P's: plentiful, personal, and powerful. I can assure you that among the various awards I've received � this lifetime award feels the most personal and powerful. To be acknowledged by my trusted and valued colleagues for my life work is overwhelming. All I can say is � thank you from the bottom of my heart. What a blessing to have been able to spend my whole adult life doing what I love to do, and feel that it's mattered, not just to me, but to you as well. |
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