Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Borough Mayor honoring area's best

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Borough mayor honoring area's best

By DENNIS J. WRIGHT, dwright@phoenixvillenews.com


PHOENIXVILLE - Mayor Leo Scoda will be honoring recipients of this year's
Citizen Recognition Award at a ceremony tonight at 7 p.m. at Phoenixville
Borough Hall.


"This award is something we do every year to honor these great people who
give their time and energy so willingly," said Scoda. "What better way than
to award them for their efforts?"

Established in 1999, the award is given annually by Scoda to honor those
individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the
fabric and sense of community of Phoenixville.

In honoring individuals and organizations that best exemplify a commitment
to improving the quality of life in Phoenixville, 10 awards are usually
presented each year. However, there are 15 awards being presented this year.

This year's recipients are as follows:

Dave & Sue Meadows - David B. Meadows is an active firefighter and driver
for 37 years, now a life member, serving as assistant chief and chief
engineer, assistant fire chief, and president for 12 years. For the 125th
anniversary of "No. 1," David compiled a history of No 1. and local fire
fighting that has been printed in booklet form and is still available today.

His wife, Sue, has been a member of No. 1 for 32 years. She has served on
the ladies auxiliary and is also a life member. She gave behind the scenes
support with beverages and donuts at fire scenes, fundraising and
babysitting.

Dave Jr. & Beth Meadows - David J. Meadows joined in 1994 while still a
student at PAHS. He is an active firefighter and EMT for 13 years and a
driver for eight (8) years. He has held the ranks of First and Second
Lieutenant as well as Captain and currently serves as assistant fire chief
(since 2007). In 2007 he was awarded the "Pop" Winters medal of valor award
and the Phoenixville Fire Department's Life Saving Award.

Dave's wife, Beth, joined No. 1 in 1999 but had been a West End member since
1994 as a volunteer firefighter. She is an active firefighter and EMT. She
has served as chairperson of the Ways and Means and Fund Drive Committees
and as vice president for three years.

Bryan Meadows - Bryan joined in 1998 and has been an active firefighter for
10 years.

Ronald J. Meadows - Ron joined No. 1 in 1977 and was an active firefighter
and driver for 25 years and is a life member. He served as First and Second
Lieutenant as well as Captain. He was the assistant fire chief for nine
years. He has also been a trustee, member of the board of directors and
President in 1994.

Tammy Klotzbach - Tammy Klotzbach is a Phoenixville resident who is involved
in so many areas of volunteer work. One of her main efforts is the various
projects conducted by the Phoenixville Kiwanis Club. Tammy serves as second
vice president of the club but is always involved in the volunteer work that
makes the Kiwanis Club such a successful organization. Her biggest
contribution thru Kiwanis has been the annual spaghetti dinner and auction
that has raised thousands of dollars for deserving Phoenixville
organizations. This year's event raised $27,000 for the Childrens' Learning
Center and the Stepping Stone Education Center.

She is also very active in the Rotary Club of Phoenixville, serving as
community service coordinator and the Food Drive Captain. She was named the
2007 Interservice Club Ambassador of the Year.

Charles Shaffer - An outstanding basketball player at Phoenixville High
School. "Charlie" has given back to his sport and his community by coaching
for the YMCA Youth Basketball Program for over 40 years. During that time,
thousands of boys and girls have learned the fundamentals of the game of
basketball through the YMCA Programs.

Janet Hunter - Janet has been an active member of the Phoenixville Area
Violence Prevention Network. This group has been actively involved with the
Day of Remembrance/Day of Hope which is now held annually in Reeves Park in
early September. She was an advocate and helped to organize the first "Gun
Buy Back Program" through the Phoenixville Police Department.

Sarah Thompson - For many, many years Sarah Thompson has been a pillar of
support for the Bethel Baptist Church in Phoenixville, beginning with
teaching Sunday School in 1968. She worked with the Sunday School and youth
ministry until 1996, a total of 28 years. She was the first woman to be
elected to the board of trustees in 1985 and served for 17 years on the
board. From 1986 to 1990, she held the office of president. In 1990, she was
elected to the position of financial secretary and in 2000 the congregation
showed its trust and respect by choosing her as the first church
administrator, a position she still holds today.

Karen Johns - Karen is a former member of Phoenixville Borough Council. She
has shown an interest in the betterment of the greater Phoenixville
community. In 1998-1999, she led the celebration of the 150th anniversary of
the Borough of Phoenixville (Sesquicentennial). As an outgrowth of her
efforts, a July 4th celebration which has included a fireworks display and
family picnic was held and still continues to this day at Friendship Field.

Barbara (Bobbi) Riley - "Bobbi" has been involved with volunteering in the
local schools - first at Schuylkill Elementary and then later at
Phoenixville Area Middle School and the senior high school. Bobbi has helped
to create and design the various sets and props for plays, musicals and
other events held in the school district. At the Senior High School, she is
active with the Boosters, an organization that assists the High School
sports teams and has helped to raise money for the choir.

Brian Maloney - The Boy Scouts of America are a very active organization in
the greater Phoenixville community with three Boy Scout troops and numerous
cub scout dens. A lot of the local success has been due to volunteers like
Brian Maloney who have spent years assisting the local Boy Scout movement.
After serving as cub master of Schuylkill Pack 73 for a number of years,
Brian represented the Chester County Council in helping to start up Cub
Scout Pack 25 at St. Basils, Pack 85 at Holy Family, and Pack 119 at
Barkley.

Paul Kusko - Paul has served almost five years as the Chairman of the
Phoenixville Shade Tree Commission having been appointed by Borough Council.
In that time, the commission has played an active key role in caring for and
managing the trees that make Phoenixville such a beautiful community. In
that time, he and the other commission members have spent hours of their own
time working with the Borough and its residents in keeping Phoenixville
"green."

Patrick Giblin - Patrick, 81, gets up every morning in the dark to drive to
St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church to fulfill his duties as sacristan for St.
Ann's Parish. Patrick's job as sacristan involves preparing the altar and
the church for mass or any other religious ceremonies to be held that day.
He has done this very important job for almost 10 years.

Reverend Robin Bearden-Reed - The Rev. Robin Bearden-Reed is an ordained
local elder and serves as an Assistant Pastor at Grimes AME Church in
Phoenixville. Reverend Bearden-Reed is employed at Parkhouse Provident
Pointe Nursing as a caseworker. There she has developed and led a prayer
support group for residents, organized prayers for the soldiers in the
Middle East and has arranged for and spoken at memorial services.

Mark Fink - Many Phoenixville area residents love the Dogwood Parade, and
former Jaycee Mark Fink has been the person in charge of the organization of
the Dogwood Parade. Mark handled this huge task for nine years. Mark also
served as Jaycee president for four years. One of his projects was the
purchase and planting of 50 dogwood trees in Reeves Park, plus Mark actually
built the new gazebo on the Second Avenue side of Reeves Park.

. . .

Scoda said that family, friends and the general public are invited to attend
the ceremonies.

"These individuals give of themselves so unselfishly," said Scoda. "They set
a better example for all of us in the work that must be done to keep our
community strong, and to make Phoenixville a better place to live."



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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

congratulations karen for a job well done. you deserve the recognition!

Karen said...

Tonight I stood in the shadow of many of Phoenixville's shining stars.

Listening to the details of each honoree's incredible dedication and long years of service to our hometown made me once again realize that our community is in the very best of hands and the biggest of hearts.

I wish to congratulate, again, each of my co-recipients and thank Mayor Leo Scoda for the honor of the Mayor's Citizen Recognition Award tonight.

Anonymous said...

Its nice to see the mayor recognizing the hard work of the people in this community.