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Press Releases
Foundation Celebrates 2009 Annual Meeting & Awards
November 9, 2009
Kids of Honor, which is focused on helping high school students stay in school and graduate, was awarded the 2009 Henson Award honoring the region's outstanding nonprofit organization. Accepting the award from Community Foundation Board Chairman Art Cooley is Paula Morris, Founder of Kids of Honor.
"In spite of challenging times, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore remains strong, pro-active and focused on the future," said Spicer Bell, Foundation President, at the nonprofit organization’s 2009 annual meeting and awards luncheon.
Over 320 people gathered at The Fountains Conference Center on Nov. 6th in
Salisbury to celebrate the Foundation’s charitable leadership and accomplishments during the past year. "Giving Back to Our Community" was the Foundation’s theme for the meeting.
The Foundation reported on its activities during the past year in support of nonprofit organizations on
Maryland ’s
Lower Eastern Shore .
Bell noted that despite a tough investment market during the past 12 months, "2009 was still a remarkable year with the Foundation awarding $3,319,000 in grants and scholarship, a new all-time high."
Board chairman Arthur M. Cooley said in the annual report to the community that during the past fiscal year the Foundation distributed 884 grants to nonprofits and received $2.9 million in new gifts from donors. The Foundation currently holds 468 charitable funds that benefit the community.
During the annual meeting four individuals were elected to serve three-year terms on the Community Foundation’s Board of Directors. Elected were: John Allen, vice-president of Delmarva Power’s Bay Region Service Territory; John Barrett, co-owner of Barrett Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep in Berlin; Jim Thomas, president and CEO of George, Miles & Buhr, LLC, Engineers and Architects; and Dave Vorhis, a partner in the law firm of Webb, Burnett, Cornbrooks, Wilbur, Vorhis, Douse & Masson, LLP.
The highlight of the Foundation’s annual meeting is the presentation of honors and awards. Cooley presented the 2009 Chairman’s Award to the late Al Balfany, of
Salisbury , who passed away earlier this year and was a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
"When Al Bafany passed away the Foundation lost a truly loyal friend and advocate,” Cooley said. “Al was always there when we needed his advice and council. He enjoyed his work with the Foundation and seemed to take great pleasure in telling others about the Foundation’s good works."
Balfany served on the Foundation’s board from 2000 to 2009. He also served on the Executive Committee, the Asset Development Committee, the Community Needs Grants Committee, the Investment Committee, the Excellence in Education Committee and the Perdue-Kresge Committee. Balfany also generously supported the Foundation with gifts to the Annual Appeal and Kresge Challenge.
Two other major Community Foundation Awards were also announced at the meeting, the Award of Excellence honoring Richard A. Henson that recognizes outstanding local nonprofit organizations and the Frank H. Morris Humanitarian Award for an individual who has demonstrated outstanding contributions to the community.
The 2009 Henson Award of Excellence for the region’s outstanding nonprofit organization was awarded to "Kids of Honor", a nonprofit organization founded in 2001. "Although relatively young, this year’s Henson Award Winning nonprofit has already made a significant impact on the lives of young people across the Lower Eastern Shore with a commitment to a focused mission to empower youth to stay in high school and graduate," said Jan Perdue, who announced the award.
Kids of Honor works with 15 partner programs that assist youth in grades 4 through 12. By partnering with existing youth programs, Kids of Honor provides structure and opportunity to develop positive life skills that over time are engrained in the lives of students. The program has already had a positive impact, helping 47 students to graduate from high school. The Foundation presented Kids of Honor with a check for $5,000 for receiving the 2009 Henson Award.
The Community Foundation’s 2009 Morris Humanitarian Award was presented to Bill Gordy, of Salisbury, a citizen who is known for his passion and focus as a volunteer firefighter. Gordy has been on-call every other week, 24-hours a day as a volunteer fireman for 35 years. He currently serves as the deputy chief of the Salisbury Fire Department’s Volunteer Division.
Gordy also organized a highly successful scholarship program at
Salisbury
University to benefit the families of first responders who were victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on
New York City ’s
World
Trade
Center in 2001. The 2009 Morris Award winner also organized a team of people to travel to the
Gulf
Coast town of
Slidell ,
Louisiana to help the citizens recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In recognition of the 2009 Morris Humanitarian Award the Foundation will make a $1,000 gift to Gordy’s favorite charity.
Linda Balfany, widow of the late Al Balfany of Salisbury, accepts the 2009 Chairman's Award on behalf of her husband, from Art Cooley, Chairman of the Board of the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.
