UNITED WAY GIVES VOLUNTEERS
"A NIGHT TO REMEMBER"

On June 6, 2006, the United Way of Essex and West Hudson held a recognition event for its most prized resource - its volunteers. The affair took place at Anheuser-Busch Conference Center.

"Our organization would not be able to achieve its goals without our dedicated group of volunteers" said Reginald Lewis, Executive Vice President of Community impact. "Tonight, we recognize the contributions of those individuals and organizations that have provided outstanding service by giving of their time, talent and energy to make our community a better place to live and work."

Volunteering means so many things at the United Way - whether serving on the Board of Trustees; being a member of Women's Leadership Council; reading to children; running a workplace campaign; participating in our vision councils; or making corporate donations to support the work - each of these roles are critical to helping us realize our vision of meaningful impact in the community.

Seven awards were given for outstanding and exemplary service to the United Way in various capacities.

Ralph LaRossa, Vice President of Electric Delivery accepted the Corporate Citizen Award on behalf of PSE&G for their outstanding support and assistance in making a direct impact in the communities we serve. As a steadfast supporter of United Way's work around children and families, their impact is felt throughout the state of New Jersey.

The recipient of the Vision Council Community Partner Award was Kathy Burke, Executive Director of Community Day Center for her untiring support and work on behalf of the Success By 6 Vision Council.

The recipient of the Celebrity Read Literacy Award was Larry Hazzard, Sr. As a first-time co-chair of the Celebrity Read program, former school principal and current NJ Boxing Commissioner, Mr. Hazzard brought a passion for literacy and a commitment to children.

For her consistent and unwavering support of our United Way, in particular through our Women's initiatives, United Way presented the Women's Philanthropy Award to Gwendolyn Watford-Miller. This award is given to a woman who exemplifies the spirit of philanthropy by sharing her passion, leadership, time and financial support with her community through her commitment and support of the United Way's women's initiatives.

The Ed Morano Community Impact Award is presented to a representative of the United States Postal Service. This year's award was given to Eugene Rear for his many years of faithful service to this community and chairing major federal workplace campaigns for many years.

The recipient of the Employee Campaign Award was Angelian Alexander of FedEx. Ms Alexander worked tirelessly not only as the coordinator for the FedEx 2005 campaign but also served United Way of Essex and West Hudson as an Executive on Loan, assisting us in implementing workplace campaigns.

The evening culminated in the presentation of the United Way's most prestigious volunteer award, The Connie Woodruff Cornerstone Award. This award honors an individual who is dedicated to giving of him or herself for the betterment of the communities in which they live and work. This individual has gone over and above the call of duty in his or her volunteerism and makes a measurable impact in the community. This award was created to honor the memory of an extraordinary woman whose dedication and service continues to transport good deeds into positive action.

The recipient of the 2006 Connie Woodruff Community Service Award is Brenda Boone for her commitment to the prevention of HIV/AIDS through education and outreach.

Her compassion and empathy for those suffering with the disease is in no way hindered by the fact that she too is HIV positive. Her willingness to share her personal story, her untiring work with the UW CARES Vision Council and Women's Leadership Council and her extensive involvement in the community are all reasons that she is being honored with this award.

The United Way of Essex and West Hudson salutes all of our volunteers for their dedication and commitment in giving of their most precious commodity - their time.

 View a video of our Connie Woodruff Award winner

# # #