Sacramento, CA - The Sixth Annual Heroes of Human Service Awards Recognition event will take place tomorrow, December 4, 2012 during the county’s Board hearing. The awards ceremony, presented by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the county’s Human Services Coordinating Council, will honor residents of Sacramento County who have touched the lives of others through their advocacy, dedication, service and support.
When: 09:30 a.m. – Tuesday, December 4, 2012 – Reception to follow
Where: County of Sacramento Administrative Building, 1st Floor, Board Chambers, 700 H Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814
Great photo opportunity!
Honorees and Honorable Mentions available after ceremony for interviews – THEIR STORIES ARE FASCINATING AND INSPIRING
During the ceremony, each Supervisor will present resolutions to honorees from their district and also recognize several outstanding honorable mention candidates. A total of 13 honorees and 5 honorable mention candidates will be recognized from the five supervisorial districts.
The Honorees:
District 1
Cathy Levering
Edward T. Lewis
Deputy Cary Trzcinski
District 2
Carol Fong
Barbara Heinrich
District 3
Marsha Ifurung
Michael Keffer
District 4
Courtney Critz
Teav Mam
Christina Preston
District 5
Tracy Kent
Leesa Klotz
Grant Shoultz
Additionally, five Honorable Mention candidates will be recognized:
Gina Hitson, Elista “Tess” Howard, Corrine Yee Joe, David J. Schroeder and Frank Topping.
The work of these heroes can be exemplified through the stories of Honorees like Carol Fong. Carol has volunteered every week, 3 times a week, with Asian Community Center (ACC) for 11 years – that is more than 12,000 hours total! She adopted AAC after she retired from a 38 year at DMV. She started out doing office work, bringing the AAC into the 21st century by setting up computer databases, which allowed them to discontinue using index cards to store data. She now volunteers as part of the ACC Rides Transportation team, gathering data for program reports, counting donations, dispatching/booking rides, supporting staff, drivers, other volunteers and more. Carol volunteers for 8 hours a day, and even longer when she has to wait for drivers to return in the late afternoon from transporting seniors.
Christina Preston has been collecting shoes for the homeless for several years. Christina feels there is a lot of need for shoes among the homeless populations, as people are isolated if they do not have shoes because they cannot get on a bus, train, enter a store, go to a doctor, or apply for a job without shoes. Christina collects shoes from friends, co-workers and on-line and collects as many as 500 pairs a month, then distributes the shoes through her various outlets in the Sacramento Area.
Grant Shoultz, an eight-year-old little boy who already has awareness of serving his community and a desire to help people in need. His work to help others started when he was five and has grown every year. Grant’s family adopted a family through Sacramento’s St. John’s Women’s Shelter. Grant shopped for the children and wrapped each gift. The following year Grant served the children at Loaves & Fishes Mustard Seed School. His family bought backpacks; he filled them with school supplies and delivered them to the school. This year has been his biggest drive yet. Grant collected 300 used books for the Salvation Army preschool in Oak Park. He put a collection bin at the front of his school and put up a sign asking people to clean their closets. He and his classmates delivered the books and read to the preschoolers. Over the summer, he joined Vice Mayor Angelique Ashby’s Parks Leadership Academy. He was the youngest member to clean Natomas parks summer mornings. In fact, he would ask when he could go back and pick up leaves and trash. More than just serving others, he is already inspiring his family and peers to volunteer and make a big difference through small acts of kindness!
As we look forward to the next year, our community will most certainly face a growing number of socio-economic challenges that will demand more attention from our human service providers. These challenges provide our entire community an opportunity to engage in and embrace the efforts demonstrated by Carol Fong, Christina Preston and Grant Shoultz. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Human Services Coordinating Council are proud to honor these Heroes of Human Service.
CONTACT: Jerri Thompson, Staff, Human Services Coordinating Council
Phone: 916-875-1250
E-mail: thompsonjer@saccounty.net
