2017 Volunteer Award Honorees

Honoring the people who volunteer their time, leadership and ideas to better Multnomah County.

Gladys McCoy Lifetime Achievement Award

Arlene Kimura - 2017 Gladys McCoy Lifetime Achievement Award winner

Jennifer Beegle Award for Youth Involvement

Magali Bonilla - 2017 Jennifer Beegle Award for Youth Involvement

HILLTOP Awards

Marilyn Mauch - 2017 HILLTOP Award winner

Janet Hawkins - 2017 HILLTOP Award for Public Service Lifetime Achievement

Cindy Scheel - 2017 HILLTOP Award for Agency Staff/Volunteer Achievement

Other Awards

Elders in Action volunteer recognition

Stephanie Williams Montgomery - Stephanie Montgomery is an Elders in Action board member, a lifelong human rights advocate, and has supported opportunities for underrepresented populations to thrive and become self-supporting. Her clear, direct approach to management and organizational improvement, especially in enhancing cross cultural communication and implementing diversity and equity strategies, has been vital to Elders in Action.

Sharon Cowley - Sharon Cowley is a tenacious Personal Advocate who brings a bounty of work and life experience to Elders in Action. She does an exceptional job volunteering at the Portland Police Bureau Elder Crime Unit where she works with older adults who have been a victim of a crime such as identity theft, robbery, and elder abuse.

Habeebah Akbar - Habeebah Akbar is an outstanding Personal Advocate volunteer at Elders in Action working directly with older adults on our Information & Referral line and at the Multnomah County Courthouse where she helps people petition for Elder Abuse Restraining Orders. She brightens every room she enters and brings a wealth of knowledge from her background working as a paralegal, criminal investigator, and case manager.

Health Department

Raymond Petit - Raymond has been a dedicated volunteer for our HIV Clinic for over six years. He volunteers in several areas including the Client Advisory Board; weekly "Here for You” event, art therapy groups; Positive Art Connection; quality improvement, and various short term project such as World AIDS Day activities, client receptions, and more. Raymond is enthusiastic, reliable, and compassionate. He has helped build a strong Client Advisory Board, and garner input from other patients relative to program planning and improving clinic services.

Department of County Human Services

LaDonna Lofland - LaDonna has been an instrumental partner in establishing and supporting the launch of a state and local county Family Independence Initiative project with TANF reinvestment funds. Her support, enthusiasm, adaptability, and willingness to engage in different tests with the Multnomah Idea Lab has created a ripe environment for success.

Danielle Donohue-Liston - Danielle went above and beyond to contact potential clients for referral into our Family Independence Initiative partnership. Her consistent communication, willingness to go above and beyond her duties, and vested interest in seeing families succeed provided crucial support to ensure project success.

Department of Community Services - Animal Services

Monica Depiero - Monica is dependable and always so friendly to clients and staff. You can tell that she really loves the animals and cares about volunteering here.

Gary Lamoureux - Gary is willing to help with whatever he can. He volunteers three days a week and is responsible for keeping the "Pitties in Pink" float in great condition.

Debbie Stegemeyer - Debbie is a morning potty walker two days a week. For the past four years, Debbie has shown up at 6 a.m. to walk very excited dogs. She also fosters dogs and is a Volunteer Mentor.

Martha Green - Martha consistently comes in every week and spends time with the difficult, un-socialized or fractious cats waiting to get their bearings here at the shelter. This is something that isn't always easy to do, as the cats often will reject her attentions and sometimes yell at her or call her names. Yet, she persists.

Patty Craig and her son, Lucas Klindt - We deeply appreciate Patty for encouraging and supporting her son’s interest in animals. We think she is wonderful, and Lucas is a very special young man!

Susan McNeill - Susan works in the kennels, and treats each and every one of the dogs as if they were her very own personal pets. She's great with clients and new volunteers, and if we ever have questions about a dog or need someone to keep an extra eye on them post-op, she's our go-to. She has fostered some medical respite dogs, as well.

Jenni Heslop - Jenni is a dog volunteer, mentor, foster, and parade walker. You name it, she's done it. She cares deeply about the animals in her care whether it’s at the shelter, or taking care of a litter of kittens in her home.

Sheila Thomas - The popularity of Sheila's Instagram page is a testament to her dedication as a foster volunteer, and personal investment into the Life-Saving-And-Adorable cause.

Robert Blake - Robert is steadfast to the mission of the shelter. You can find him in the cattery on any Saturday afternoon tidying up and helping cats find their forever homes. We can always count on Robert to be here ready, willing and able!

Sue Smith - Sue works two days a week, potty walking at 6am. She is great with the dogs and pays attention to health issues. Animal Health staff members are very grateful for this. She has fostered some dogs with medical issues,, but her favorites are the really old ones that just need some tender loving care.

Library

Ruben Arciniega - Since 2013, Ruben has volunteered nearly 170 hours as a Summer Reading volunteer, Story Time assistant, and as an officer on the Teen Council. His deceptively simple icebreaker questions generate discussion and set the tone for our meetings. Ruben has a unique power-- he can walk into a room and make everyone feel at ease with his sophisticated, yet inclusive brand of humor. We are grateful for his influence on our team!

Emma Wenck - Since 2015, Emma has given the library 150 hours of her time. At just 15 years old, she has been the youngest Summer Reading Leader and Teen Council President we have ever had. Not only can she schedule volunteers for their shifts like a pro, but she can brainstorm fresh library events with heart and efficiency. She can paint the cutest Pokémon on your face -- as she did during our Pokémon Club! She has a calm and self-assured maturity that will positively influence the lives of many people in the future.

Susan Safford - Since 2009, Sue has helped many immigrants learn about the Bill of Rights and the intricacies of how our democracy functions. As a volunteer teacher with the Adult Literacy Program, she has gone above and beyond to create inspiring six-week citizenship courses. Not all her students can read or speak English well, and she is sensitive to the wide diversity of levels of learning. She is a great mentor to new teachers, and staff members frequently send potential volunteers to observe her classes. Her ongoing commitment to this library program contributes strongly to its success.

Emily Chan - Emily has been an exceptional Rockwood Library volunteer who helps us with moving library materials. Emily is always on time, greets staff when she arrives and always has a pleasant attitude. She gets reserved items into the hands of library patrons quickly. Our staff is very thankful to have such a reliable and hardworking volunteer!

Roberta Elrod - Roberta has been a long time patron at Capitol Hill Library and began volunteering here three-and-a-half years ago. She is incredibly dependable and reliable, checking in endless quantities of library items that have been placed on hold during her shifts. We greatly appreciate and enjoy her dedication, humor and her stories, not to mention her incredible knowledge of films and actors. We are so happy to have her as part of our volunteer team here at Capitol Hill Library!

Allan Karsk - Allan volunteers at the Hollywood Library two times per week. He works extremely hard, is very reliable, is fun to work with and is always a bright spot here.

Jason Korff - Jason is super reliable and efficient, besides being a very nice guy! We really depend on his help every Saturday at Hollywood Library.

Kate Rate - Kate has been coming to Hollywood Library every Saturday morning for several years. She searches for holds, is very reliable, makes us laugh and generally just makes Hollywood Library a better place!

Mariah Bennett-Gillard - Mariah comes to Hollywood every Sunday morning and powers through the entire Paging List. She is reliable, extremely efficient and very friendly. We love having her at Hollywood!

Multnomah County District Attorney –Citizen Budget Advisory Committee (CBAC)

Dick Wegner - Dick has been a long time member of the MCDA CBAC and has served as both the Chair and as the representative to the Central CBAC. His energy and engaging questions have helped push the District Attorney's Office toward better policy making and allocation of budget resources.

Mike Delman - Mike has been a long time member of the MCDA CBAC. His considerable knowledge of the history and functions of the District Attorney's Office have been valuable assets to the department and the CBAC when evaluating budget choices. His service is much appreciated!

Last reviewed November 18, 2024