Nominations Sought for Montgomery Serves Awards

Nominations Sought  for Montgomery Serves Awards

 Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett announced today that nominations are being accepted for the Montgomery Serves Awards and the Neal Potter Path of Achievement Awards.

The awards, along with the Roscoe Nix Award, will be presented on April 29 at Imagination Stage in Bethesda.  The event, organized by the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, Fund for Montgomery (FFM) and the Corporate Volunteer Council of Montgomery County (CVC-MC), will honor some of the County’s most outstanding community leaders and dedicated volunteers. Andrea Roane, weekday morning anchor for WUSA 9, will serve as mistress of ceremonies.

“There are so many dedicated and hardworking individuals in Montgomery County who give freely of their time and talents to make this County a special place to live, work and raise a family,” Leggett said in encouraging residents to submit nominations of individuals, businesses and community groups for the awards. “We launched this awards program last year to recognize the many extraordinary people who work so hard every day to serve their community.”

Nominations are now being sought from the public for two award categories:

·        Neal Potter Path of Achievement Awards.  In partnership with the Commission on Aging and “The Beacon” newspaper, two residents aged 60 and above will be selected for their lifetime of volunteer service to the County.  This annual award is named in memory of former CountyCouncilmember, County Executive and longtime civic activist Neal Potter.

·        2012 Montgomery Serves Awards. The awards recognize special volunteer accomplishments during the calendar year 2012 in three categories: Youth Service Awards (individual youth 18 years and under and/or youth groups); Business Service Awards (businesses or corporations that engage their employees as community volunteers); and Community Service Awards (exemplary volunteer service by individuals or community organizations).

Nominations will be accepted until Monday, February 25 at 5 p.m.  Additional information and nomination forms can be found atwww.montgomeryserves.org or by calling the Montgomery County Volunteer Center at 240-777-2600.  Winners are expected to be announced in mid-March.

The prestigious Roscoe Nix Award was established by the County Executive to honor community icon Roscoe Nix, who gave a half century of service to Montgomery County as president of the Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP and as a member of the Montgomery County Board of Education. First presented in 2012, the Nix award is the County’s equivalent of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.

The Montgomery Serves Awards, sponsored by the FFM, were created by Leggett and the Office of Community Partnerships to solicit private funding to continue important community-building events like Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, World of Montgomery Festival, Community Service Day and ethnic heritage events.  The awards ceremony is hosted by Montgomery County through the Volunteer Center, with the assistance of the CVC- MC.

The event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited and pre-registration is required. Registration begins on February 11 atwww.montgomeryserves.org.