By Bob Burns
Mail

The Town of Fountain Hills recognized its outstanding volunteers at a dinner reception at the Community Center on March 28.

Pam Cissik and Janice Holden, co-chairs for the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills were named as co-volunteers of the year.

“What a beautiful sight – a room full of generous friends and neighbors dedicated to helping our community,” Mayor Ginny Dickey said in opening remarks. “You know going in this is no 9 to 5 routine, that you will be giving up evenings and weekends and meals to benefit others with your special talents and boundless energy.

“Volunteers of all ages, from (Mayor’s Youth Council) to Encore for More, you are the heart and essence of Fountain Hills and add immeasurable value to our already special hometown.

“It is my honor to help publicly recognize your efforts and join others in expressing our gratitude to you.”

It was noted that Cissik and Holden oversee a group of 155 volunteers that include trailblazers, trailhead hosts and trail stewards. They put in hundreds of hours on an annual basis and have done so for more than a decade.

The Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills is associated with the Fountain Hills McDowell Mountain Preserve, the Lake Overlook Trail and the Fountain Hills Desert Botanical Garden.

Linda Radtke was recognized as the Outstanding Volunteer for the Crisis Response Team in Fountain Hills. This is a group of citizens who assist first responders to help citizens cope with sometimes unspeakable tragedy ranging from fire, accidents, domestic violence, suicide and illness.

Radtke has been with the Crisis Response Team since 2017, and according to team chair Tom Aiello, she is a big reason the group is so successful.

Wendy Parr was named Outstanding Volunteer for the town’s Give a Lift program where volunteers provide transportation to elderly and infirmed. The group provided more than 280 transports covering more than 1,000 hours in the past year, according to Town Volunteer Coordinator Kim Wicklund.

The Home Delivered Meals program recognized Robert Fanslau as Outstanding Volunteer. The program has provided regular home-cooked meals to the homebound for 34 years, according to program coordinator Nita Blose. They deliver 5,000 meals annually, and without the volunteers,   the program could not exist, according to Blose. She said they are also loyal volunteers with one person serving 32 years, nine who have 20 or more years of service, eight with 15 to 20 years and 10 with 10 to 15 years with the program. Fanslau has volunteered for more than 20 years.

Bill Yeager was named Outstanding Volunteer for the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills. Yeager has volunteered with the group for 20 years and is always willing to take on the difficult tasks involved with the Trailblazers, moving equipment and materials needed to make the trail system in the Preserve one of the best, according to Trailblazers coordinator Bill Craig. Yeager has been involved with the construction of every trail in the preserve, Craig said.

Daniel Williams was selected as Outstanding Volunteer for Parks & Recreation. Recreation Manager Ryan Preston said Williams contributed 40 volunteer hours over the past year while remaining a busy high school student. He is a member of the National Honor Society and serves with the Mayor’s Youth Council.

Williams will take on any job asked of him and always with a smile on his face, Preston said.

Two groups were singled out for special recognition at the reception. Members of the recently dissolved McDowell Mountain Preservation Commission, which has overseen the development within the preserve for more than two decades, were honored.

Also, the Citizen’s Advisory Streets Committee had some of its 14 members present at the reception and were called forward to be recognized for their assistance in developing a pavement management program the town is implementing.

The Town of Fountain Hills has volunteers numbering in the hundreds who spend countless hours providing service to the community and saving the town hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Bob Burns can be reached at bburns@iniusa.org.