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City of Columbia volunteers recognized for extraordinary efforts!
Kudos recognizes the efforts of some of the many volunteers who improve the City of Columbia. Visit this page to read about our volunteers of the month! Read about past recipients:
December Volunteer of the Month, Aparna Pendurthi, began her volunteer work for Public Works as a Household Hazardous Waste volunteer. She soon developed an interest in research for the Eco-teacher quarterly newsletter which we fill with instructional information for educators about waste reduction and recycling.
Pendurthi’s assistance enabled the efficient delivery of the newsletter. Besides environmental conservation, the newsletter also conveys information about grants, upcoming events and presentation ideas.
For two years, Pendurthi participated in the seasonal Fall Festival of the Arts, the Downtown Twilight Festivals, the Use Less Stuff holiday campaign, and booth sat as a representative of Public Works in trade shows. She shared her knowledge of recycling, helped children make flowers from recycled materials, and distributed pamphlets.
Although the City of Columbia lost a great volunteer, we thank the college-bound Aparna for her help. We wish her well toward her pursuit of a medical career.
“ Aparna’s dedication toward the Eco-Teacher newsletter project has had a great impact on local environmental education.”
Christine Gardener - Public Works
Article by Debra Hardin
November’s Volunteer of the Month, Judy Knudson says, "Fitness is something we owe ourselves and our community." Those are words she lives her daily life by now. Two years ago Mayor Hindman asked Knudson, a board member on the Mayor’s Council of Physical Fitness, to chair the then newly established Mayor’s Challenge: Bike, Walk & Wheel Week. The Mayor’s Challenge raises awareness about human powered transit. Knudson has devoted more than 60 hours of preparation for several weeks before the event each year. Without her hard work this event would not take place.
During the summers of 1999 & 2000 she toured on the Coast-to-Coast Bicycle Event and was a featured writer about her adventures for the Columbia Tribune. "Journaling and coming into fitness in my 50's drew a large and interested response from local people," said Knudson.
An avid traveler and busy music teacher keep Knudson busy, between volunteer work, from dusk to dawn. The City of Columbia wishes to publicly thank Judy for her time and volunteer efforts toward the fitness and well-being of Columbia citizens.
Article by Debra Hardin
“Their hard work and willing volunteerism is essential to our office,” says the Office of Cultural Affairs’ (OCA) Volunteer Supervisor Marie Nau Hunter about volunteers of the month Betty Revington Burdick and Laura Perez Mesa.
With a combined seventeen years of service, Betty and Laura have made a tremendous effort every year to allow the Poster Party to take place. The Poster Party, which raises money for the OCA and the Columbia Festival of the Arts, is an annual cocktail party. The party takes place in a house that is donated by the owner and costs around $35 a person to attend.
Betty, Laura, and other committee members meet monthly from March until August to plan for the event. Their tasks include finding a host home for the event, getting food and drink donations, sending invitations, setting up before the event and cleaning up after the party is over. Betty and Laura are active members of the committee and are always willing to volunteer their time for practically any chore.
Their commitment to the Poster Party fundraiser is shown in many ways, like volunteering their personal holiday card lists when the Poster Party was just beginning. In addition, Betty and Laura both bring their own silver serving pieces to decorate the tables at the party.
The City of Columbia gives our thanks to Betty and Laura, because without their effort to put together the Poster Party, the Columbia Festival of Arts could not occur.
Article by Debra Hardin
With the skilled assistance of September Volunteer of the Month Julie Tobias, the Columbia Boone County Health Department (CBCHD) has been able to offer HeartPower classes to city/county residents. Since October 2002, Tobias has helped prepare for, and teach, monthly classes at the Daniel Boone Regional Library.
"I love helping younger kids" says Tobias, a Registered Dietician, who has a penchant for doing just that. She teaches children the benefits of healthful eating habits, physical activity and the perils of smoking. In hopes of lessening a growing childhood obesity problem in our community, Tobias’s works with preschool aged children to instill healthy lifelong habits. "Contributing to our community without reimbursement provides personal satisfaction for me," says Tobias.
The City of Columbia extends thanks to Julie for her time and assistance in reaching our community’s children.
To learn more about the HeartPower classes call CBCHD at 874-6345. To learn about city volunteer opportunities contact us at volunteer@gocolumbiamo.com or call 874-7499.
Article by Debra Hardin
July Volunteer of the Month, Emma Teuten, knows more that just a little about hazardous waste. Teuten, who earned her PhD in chemistry at MU, has volunteered for the City of Columbia’s Public Works Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) program for one and a half years.
To help allay homesickness for London, England, and to further her knowledge, she volunteered at more than half the regularly scheduled HHW days during her volunteer interest.
Deeply concerned about the environment and the effects of chemicals in our world, Teuten’s easygoing manner helped to bridge a fuller understanding of Public Works bywords....reduce, reuse and recycle. In addition, Teuten volunteered at many festivals and events around town to help spread the word about the City’s goal of reducing waste.
Teuten has gone on to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for postdoctoral work as she studies the effects of man-made chemicals on the world’s water supply. The City of Columbia would like to thank Emma for her community contribution during her stay in Columbia, and to wish her success.
Article by Debra Hardin
“Columbia is a good size city but keeps a sense of community among the people who live here. Being a volunteer makes me feel I am a part of the community,” says Sally Shahid.
Our June honoree, Sally, is a City TreeKeeper who has donated more than 62 volunteer hours on city projects over the past year. Since the 1997 inception of the TreeKeeper program, volunteers have provided more than $30,000 in labor to the city.
Sally enjoys weekend volunteer work that takes her outside far away from her workday cubicle. She appreciates learning about Columbia’s parks history from the friendly Parks & Recreation staff. Taking part in the visionary work that keeps Columbia a pleasant community inspires Sally to stay active in volunteer service.
The City of Columbia extends our thanks to Sally.
Article by Debra Hardin
A 50-year-old or older Columbia traveler may know, or may soon meet, one of our six Older American Klub (OAK) Tours volunteers of the month. The Parks and Recreation OAK Tours program provides an exciting itinerary, an experienced tour guide and a safer means of travel than traveling alone.
Six volunteers, Ora Lee Epperson, Jo Hofsess, Dale Semon, Corrine Young, Millie Binkley and Vicky Epperson, donated more than 1,025 hours of service over the past year. The length of volunteer service varies from three years to many years. “I enjoy meeting new people. When I travel with them, I help them navigate airports and customs. I have made many new friends,” says Dale Semon.
The OAK Tour volunteers answer phones, assist walk-ins, book tours and assemble the newsletter. City staff must manage groups of up to 20 on worldwide travel itineraries. Without volunteers to attend to the daily office work, this travel program would not be feasible.
Eleven year volunteer Corrine Young says, “Every day I volunteer I enjoy the social contact and working with the walkers at Parkade Mall.” Many OAK participants walk for health in the carpeted mall. Another volunteer, Jo Hofsess said “I enjoy meeting travelers who participate in the tours, and working closely with the other volunteers.”
Article by Debra Hardin
With the click of a mouse, Columbians can see firsthand the volunteer work
Glenn Rice has done for the city. Rice volunteered more than 70 hours over a three-week period in 2002 by offering his expert assistance with the transition to the new city Web site, www.gocolumbiamo.com.
"He personally handled over 700 pages of conversion during the process and
worked entirely from his own personal home computer, space and time", said
his supervisor, Sam Shelby of the Public Communications Department.
Rice's contribution freed Shelby's time, allowing him to work with design
problems, layouts, content and graphics. Without Rice's assistance, the Web
site would have been prolonged an additional two weeks.
"Because the City is committed to presenting a positive image of the city
government, it was important to provide Columbia citizens another way to
access its services and share up-to-the-minute news, events, attractions and
programs", Shelby said.
Article written by volunteer Megan Clark
To deal with traffic problems in their neighborhood, volunteers for the Mills Drive Traffic Calming Project took matters into their own hands.
They helped conduct a license plate study with the Columbia Public Works Department in which vehicles were tracked as they drove through the neighborhood to determine the percentage of traffic that could be classified as "cut through" traffic - when the drivers are simply cutting through the neighborhood. They also helped repaint chevrons on their neighborhood's speed humps, which are less tall than traditional speed bumps.
"Having the volunteers helped speed things up and saved many hours of city employees' time," said Diane Reinhardt, a civil engineer at Public Works. "Plus it was fun and gave the neighborhood residents involvement in the problem solving. Seeing neighbors out conducting a study makes it much more palatable to the community, and the volunteers can better explain the solutions to others."
Article written by volunteer Megan Clark
In his two-and-a-half years as a Park Patroller on the city trail system, Bob Wolfe has dealt with a variety of situations, including picking up litter and helping trail users in need of assistance. The biggest emergency he has ever encountered was a biker who had broken his leg.
"He was in terrible shape," Wolfe said. "Fortunately, it was right by a call phone."
Trained patrollers provide a visible presence on the city trail system to help support a safer environment for the trail users.
Wolfe, said he joined Park Patrol because he was an avid user of the trail. There have been more than 325 trained patrollers since 1997.
"I just like to use the trail," he said. "Whether or not I was with Park Patrol, I'd still be there. It's a beautiful, beautiful place and a wonderful asset to the city."
Article written by volunteer Megan Clark
Through his work with the Department of Parks & Recreation Kid’s Triathlon event, Steve Taylor encourages children to be physically active. As the race director, Taylor is in charge of coordinating volunteer efforts, setting up and planning the course and promoting the event.
“Steve sets a good example by being physically active himself and helping people set and obtain fitness goals,” supervisor Dayton Grover said. “Since Steve has directed the last two Kids’ Triathlon events, participation numbers have increased. He has a genuine interest in kids to be fit and physically active.”
Taylor is a role model for the children who participate in the race. He is the 2002 National Collegiate Ironman Triathlon Champion and has qualified for the 2003 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship.
“I myself have gotten tremendous rewards and satisfaction from doing the triathlon,” he said. “The biggest reward is just to share that with other people. Anything that makes people more fit and healthy benefits everyone.”
Article written by Megan Clark
Past Winners:
For more information on volunteer opportunities, call 874-7499 or write to volunteer@GoColumbiaMo.com.
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