For Immediate Release: Monday, October 12, 2020
The 2020 Montgomery Serves Awards, Montgomery County’s highest honor for service and volunteerism, will be presented at a virtual ceremony premiering online at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 via the Montgomery Serves website and viewable at that link anytime following the premiere.
This year’s Montgomery Serves Awards winners will be recognized in the categories listed below.
The Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Leadership Awards, honoring community leaders, change agents, and role models who have made extraordinary contributions to Montgomery County over the course of their lives will be presented by County Executive Marc Elrich to:
- Winston Anderson, of Silver Spring, whose work as a scientist, activist, and founder of the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery has played a vital role in expanding cross-cultural communication and diversity in education, historical expression, the arts, and the humanities.
- Jenny Sue Dunner, of Chevy Chase, who has championed the causes of neighborhood communities, built relationships between government entities and the residents they serve, and led bipartisan efforts designed to improve the representation of County residents.
- Anita Neal Powell, of Rockville, the founding president and CEO of the Lincoln Park Historical Foundation and the Leroy E. Neal African American Research Center, who has helped preserve and share the rich, cultural heritage of Montgomery County’s historically Black communities and other areas in the state.
The Neal Potter Path of Achievement Awards, honoring lifetime volunteer service by those age 60 and older, will go to:
- Robert Marques, of Germantown, a dedicated volunteer with the Montgomery County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and the Washington Grove Volunteer Fire Department, who has served on the CERT Go-Team, performed community outreach, instructed classes, worked with teens, and more.
- Wolfgang Mergner, of Takoma Park, a long-time community activist who developed the Village of Takoma Park, an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to provide an array of intergenerational support services to seniors and persons with disabilities who wish to live actively in the community.
The Volunteer of the Year Awards, recognizing outstanding volunteer service performed during the previous calendar year in four categories, will go to:
- Volunteer of the Year John Frizzell, a Rockville resident and president of Rockville Meals on Wheels, who volunteered more than 1,000 hours to the organization in 2019, providing the leadership skills, technical know-how, and dedication needed to achieve its mission of providing meals to Rockville community members in need.
- Youth Volunteer of the Year Nick Casertano, of Gaithersburg, a junior at St. Anselm’s Abbey School in Washington, DC, who developed and led an outreach program for the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, giving children an opportunity to use their imaginations while building STEM creations.
- Volunteer Group of the Year Montgomery County Students for Change, whose 15 chapters at public and private high schools throughout the county provide local youth with an opportunity to tackle some of the most challenging issues of their generation, including gun violence prevention, climate reform, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Business Volunteer of the Year GEICO, based in Chevy Chase, whose partnership with Shepherd’s Table—a Silver Spring nonprofit that serves those experiencing homelessness and other residents in need—includes reliable monthly meal services, passionate volunteer support for events, and pro bono assistance with special projects.
The Montgomery County Volunteer Center organizes these prestigious annual awards in partnership with the Fund for Montgomery. The 2020 awards were originally scheduled to be presented at a gala at Imagination Stage in April, but the event was postponed and moved to a virtual platform due to the pandemic. Andrea Roane, retired local news anchor, has served as the event’s master of ceremonies for many years and will host the 2020 virtual presentation.
Learn more about the awards and the Volunteer Center—which helps individuals and groups find volunteer opportunities year-round, including now, during the COVID-19 emergency—at www.montgomeryserves.org.
For more information, contact serviceawards@montgomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-2600.
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Release ID: 20-591
Media Contact: Lorna Virgili 240-277-8072