BERLIN — At an event last night, 22 leading Worcester County citizens with a legacy of inspiring volunteer work were recognized.
In honor of its 20th year, Habitat for Humanity of Worcester County organized the Worcester Humanitarian Awards. Nominations were sought at the end of last year. Each winner will receive a $100 chariatable gift certificate to be given to the non-profit of their choice.
The award program was sponsored by the Habitat for Humanity of Worcester County, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and The Dispatch.
The winners were:
Mary Kay Allgood has been a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) since 2005. As a CASA volunteer, she advocates for abused and neglected children in Worcester County. She conducts investigations and makes recommendations to the court regarding what is in the best interest of the child. She also helps recruit and train new volunteers. She also volunteers for Worcester G.O.L.D., Ocean City Lioness, Diakonia, and the NOEL program which provides food for those in need.
Donna Black resides in Snow Hill with her husband and three children. She has been teaching mathematics in Worcester County for 15 years, currently at Snow Hill High School. Her volunteer work includes activities within her school as well as the outside community. Organizations include The Jesse Klump Memorial Fund, Girl Scouts, Ocean Conservancy’s Coastal Clean-Up, and more. She views volunteering as a fun was to spend time with her family and friends.
Olivia “Gracie” Boyce is a freshman at Pocomoke High School and is pursuing their Pathways program to college. She has maintained a 4.5 grade point average (5.0) and is an active student in the school and community. She is a defense attorney on the Mock trial team. In the community she is a regular volunteer for her church, Bayside Community Church. She is also a dancer with Feet of Fire in Salisbury. She wants to attend Liberty University and study to be a doctor involved in Cancer research.
Colleen “Cam” Bunting is Broker/Owner of Bunting Realty and Bunting Realty Property Management. She serves on the Coastal Hospice & Palliative Care Board and is fundraising for a Berlin hospice residence. She is also a Town of Berlin Ambassador. She’s a past Chair of Atlantic General Hospital, 2007 Woman of the Year for the Worcester County Commission for Women, and 2009 Community Service Award winner for the Coastal Association of Realtors.
Stephanie Clayville resides in Snow Hill with her husband Brooks and is a Technology Project Manager for Perdue Farms. She is a founder and President of the Board of Directors of the Snow Hill Ecumenical Food Pantry. She has been involved with the pantry for over 5 years and dedicates many hours to helping those in need. In 2014 she was elected the first woman to join the Snow Hill Lion’s Club where she is now an active member.
Nancy Engelke has been a patient care volunteer for Coastal Hospice for more than 14 years. Two days every week, she visits hospice patients and their caregivers in their Worcester County homes. During her 14 years of service, she has volunteered more than 1,140 hours and driven nearly 3,900 miles to care for people who are in their final stages of life. She resides in Ocean Pines.
Dawn Cordrey Hodge has been the operations manager at the Original Greene Turtle in North Ocean City since 2007. She has been the volunteer chair for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life of North Worcester County since 2006. She engages and supports other volunteers to with year-round fundraising and community education goals. Since she began chairing the event the community has raised over $1 million in the fight against cancer.
Susanne Hoshino is a licensed nurse, physical therapist, certified veterinary assistant, and animal rescue volunteer. She owned and operated Ocean Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine in Berlin for 20 years. A lifelong animal lover, she volunteers by vetting, socializing, training, fostering, and rehabilitating in-need animals. She educates pet owners and works with private groups to accommodate animals that local shelters cannot house. She has placed over 350 animals in adoption or rescue over the past four years. She also volunteers for the Worcester County Humane Society.
Cathy Gallagher is a retired registered nurse who for 40 years was Director of United Rehabilitation Services, which provides employment and social opportunities for adults with disabilities. Since moving to Ocean Pines in 2010 has volunteered for the Worcester County Developmental Center where she organized and is president of the Friends of WCDC, which provides economic and other supports, raising funds for client activities including therapeutic horseback riding lessons.
Bishop Isaac Jenkins is the Executive Director and Founder of Save the Youth Crime Prevention Program with a mission to redirect troubled youth ages 5-17 from a life of crime and incarceration. The organization has served three lower shore counties for 32 years helping over 4,000 at-risk kids and over 400 high school drop outs get their GED’s. Bishop Jenkins has pastored New Macedonia Baptist Church in Pocomoke City for 55 years.
Vicky Nock and Ray Stevens: Vicky is a mother of three and grandmother to five and married to Sonny Nock. Mainly a stay at home wife and mother and caring for her grandchildren, she has a small at home business. A member of Stevenson United Methodist Church in Berlin, she and Ray Stevens and a handful of other volunteers started The Spirit Kitchen in February 2011. To date, the Spirit Kitchen has served over 25,000 meals. Ray was born in Wilmington, Del., and graduated from the University of Delaware. He served in USAF during the Vietnam War, then as a civilian employee of Department of Defense and NASA for 28 years and retired from Federal Service in 2008. He helped organize the Spirit Kitchen in 2011 and has served as cook ever since.
Terry Parks lives in Ocean City. He is an Eastern Shore native raised in New Church, Va. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corp then worked as a meat cutter and meat manager for major grocery chains. He’s spent his life serving God and in that way volunteering to visit the elderly residents at the Berlin Nursing Home, Woodlands Assisted Living Home, and Gull Creek Assisted Living.
Judy Patton was a dedicated mother and who actively supported her husband Tom as they invested in the revitalization of Berlin. Together, they purchased and restored The Eagle Hotel and The Odd Fellows Building on Main Street, and The Globe Theater. She was active in her support of historic preservation with St. Martins Church and the Rackliffe House. Most recently she volunteered at Diakonia Thrift Store, Coastal Hospice Thrift Store and The Church Mouse for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Ron Pilling lives in Bishopville and is a co-founder of the Jesse Klump Memorial Fund, a suicide prevention organization that serves the lower Eastern Shore. The Jesse Klump Suicide Awareness & Prevention Program teaches suicide prevention “first aid,” compiles a resource directory for local mental health services, and hosts support groups. A retired businessman and native of Baltimore, he spends his summers launching guests in canoes and kayaks on the Pocomoke River.
Kelly Rew is a Vice President and Business Banking Sales Manager at PNC Financial Services Group. She is a PNC Grow Up Great Volunteer at Snow Hill Elementary School, and serves on the board of Maryland Capital Enterprises. Her other volunteer experience includes the Jesse Klump Foundation, HALO, the United Way and the Coastal Cleanup. She lives in Snow Hill with her husband Mike and daughter Carley.
Mabel Rogers lives in Taylorville with her husband, Donald. They owned Rainy Day Sporting Goods on Route 589 until retirement. She is on the board of Seaside Christian Academy, Worcester County Historical Society, Ocean City Museum Society. She volunteers at the Ocean City Life Saving Museum and the Shepherd’s Crook food pantry.
Originally from Illinois, Jack Sizemore worked for 40 years for CNA insurance before he and his wife Ellie retired to Ocean Pines in 2000. Jack volunteers at the Children’s House by the Sea which provides respite housing for 125 families and their seriously ill children each year. He also volunteers with Santa’s House providing food, clothing and toys at Christmas to those in need. This year Santa’s House helped 4oo families with over 1000 children.
Barbara Tull and Wayne Compton Since 1997 Barbara has volunteered in the development of the Delmarva Discovery Center and Museum and continues to serve on the Board. For 35 years she operated a women’s clothing store in Pocomoke City. She has served on the Worcester County Economic Development Board and the Worcester County Tourism Board. Wayne, 14, is very active in Boy Scout Troop 817 and currently holds the rank of Second Class Scout. Wayne has volunteered more than 100 hours at the Discovery Center.
Brendan Turner is a freshman and honor student at Pocomoke High School. He is active in sports and is a member of the soccer, swim and baseball teams. He is a member of the Science Olympiad and the PHS Warrior Band. He volunteers at the Chesapeake region YMCA in Pocomoke where he works exclusively with the young members. He hopes to attend college and study engineering.
Davida Washington is a native of Berlin, and an alumnus of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and Liberty University Christian Seminary. She is currently an accountant at Enovative Technologies in Bishopville. She is a pastor in Snow Hill at Liberty Church on the Rock Ministries, Inc. and chairs a non-profit, PACA-Bridge of Hope, Inc. that umbrellas a food pantry, childcare center, used furniture outlet, and soup kitchen.