James Poignon

James A. Poignon’s volunteer activities span human and non-human, young and old. He volunteers both outside his home and in-home as a respite foster parent for both children and dogs. He has even volunteered overseas with Project Hope, an organization that provides medical and disaster relief to all people around the globe.

Along with his normal Alexandria hospital volunteer duties (delivering flowers, discharging patients, running lab samples, etc.); he makes extra time on holidays to dress up as Santa or the Easter bunny to entertain those patients who unfortunately have to be in the hospital during these times and those staff members who are working. Staff persons that have attended a few of these holiday sessions have never seen so many happy faces both young and old.

His other great love is providing respite care for Northern Virginia Family Services. He introduces the children he fosters to the outdoors by taking them fishing on his boat which they might never have the opportunity to experience. He records their experience ‘driving’ the boat with pictures and has created a wall of fame for them. Additionally he spearheaded a fundraiser for fishing poles for all the children who attend the annual Northern Virginia picnic. He generated monies well over the amount needed for the poles and the remaining was given as a money donation to Northern Virginia.

Not only does James perform his volunteer duties with a warm heart and tons of enthusiasm, he encourages all those volunteers he works with to continue the good work they do with occasional treats and a hearty “Thank you for volunteering!”

John Plourde

John Plourde is often asked why he chose to volunteer. He advises that after he retired from the U.S. Navy as a Master Chief, he found a big void in his life. He could have found another job, but it would have been hard to find one that really challenged him like the position he had in the military—a job that was, and made him feel, important. Because of this, he chose to volunteer his time to do some important things for the community.

Since his retirement in 1990 he has been dedicated to his community. He volunteers time daily with the police department heading up the Volunteers in Policing (VIP) and is the Block Captain for his 35 household Neighborhood Watch Program. He is an instructor in the Citizens Academy, edits the department’s newsletter and is the Webmaster for the city and Chamber of Commerce. In addition, John is the District Coordinator and Instructor for the AARP Driver Safety Program in Kings and Tulare County.

John averages 160 hours a month with RSVP projects. He has served on the Lemoore Planning Commission and has twice been appointed to complete terms on the Lemoore City Council. John has developed a VIP force in the Lemoore Police Department that numbers the same as the active force. He truly is remarkable.

He is eager to serve. John looks for a challenge and focuses on activities he thinks are important to his community. He initiates programs and heads them up. He is thoughtful, thorough and calls on himself to do excellent work.

Elmore & Doris Pillsbury

Elmore and Doris Pillsbury have delivered Meals on Wheels each Friday for 26 years to seniors in Acton, MA. In that time, they have delivered 16,000 meals and seen the program grow from a few deliveries a week to its current two-route, five days a week, 52 weeks a year schedule.

Doris and Elmore are reliable and cheerful, bringing not just meals alone, but also their upbeat observations of life told with humor and grace. As Minuteman’s representatives, they also provide an important and even life-saving safety check by monitoring senior’s health and wellness.

Doris and Elmore nourish seniors physically, emotionally and psychologically. They provide a supportive service that allows their clients to keep living in familiar surroundings rather than in expensive institutional settings. In addition to their service to Minuteman, they are regulars at the Acton Council on Aging, and are very active with the Acton Congregational Church, especially with the Good Shepard Network and the church newsletter.

Recently, the Senior Dining Site presented them with a Bronze Presidential Award for 100-249 hours of service in 2007, as well as a Certificate of Recognition for 25 years as Meals on Wheels drivers. Their visits help seniors stay connected to the larger community and to the agency. Over many years, they know which seniors wait by the door for their arrival, and others who must stay seated.

Svyatoslav Petrov

Svyatoslav Petrov is an outstanding young man who is very dedicated to community service. He developed a program called PAN International that stands for Preserving a Nation. It is described by Svyatoslav’s sponsors, Douglas B. Vinsel, CEO of Duke Raleigh Hospital and Kathy Turner, Director of Children’s Ministry, as “an International Healthcare Education Program with the goal of preserving a nation by teaching a young generation the habits and skills of healthy living. It is based on the notion that preventative medicine is always the best cure.”

Preserving a Nation works with Russian Ministries of Mt. Vernon to educate children who have compromised immune systems because of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster on August 25th, 1986.

Thirty-five Russian children participated in Svyatoslav’s first session where they learned about simple methods of proper nutrition, hygiene and substance abuse prevention that could help build a strong immune system. Svyatoslav developed practical “hands on” experiences and those children who actively participated in the program where awarded special “PAN International” certificates. The children also signed a pledge developed by Svyatoslav in which they promised to abstain from smoking, drug and alcohol use. Svyataslov spent extra time counseling the children on Biblical principles. Statistically, the number of absolutely healthy children in Belarus does not exceed 20%, which is why a program based on preventative medicine is so important to these children. Svyatoslav raised $500 of monitory funds and $4,000 of value support items such as equipment and teaching supplies. He also recruited and trained several Russian-speaking adult workers for his program and established criteria for their acceptance.

Douglas Vinsel describes Svyatoslav as “liked and respected by all. He is mature beyond his years!” Kathy Turner describes him as “an amazing young man,” and “a self-starter.” This is not the first time Svyatoslov has demonstrated his remarkable dedication to community service. He earned a Gold Level Presidential Service Award last year with over 500 hour of service and was recognized as a North Carolina Distinguished Finalist award recipient in the Prudential Service Award competition. He developed and implemented a hand sanitation program for hospital workers at Duke Regional Hospital that increased compliance from 32% to 75% in a five month time frame.

Madeline Patterson

Madeline Patterson has lived her life as an example to others, often donating her time to help others who are less fortunate than she. This year, she is celebrating 22 years of being a Foster Grandparent, through which she has donated approximately 20,000 hours of her time to help children with special needs. She provides her services at Alternatives for Children, located in Setauket, Long Island.

Madeline, who has four biological grandchildren of her own, says that the Foster Grandparent Program offers her the opportunity to mentor a child who is severely physically handicapped—in her case, aged 18 months to five years—and see the joy in the faces of the class when she walks into the room. Madeline explains that she especially enjoys when they call her “Nana” and, because they are so little, hug her around her knees. She stresses that these children have problems just like adults, and that an important part of what she does is to listen to them and soothe their pains. Madeline also appreciates the ability children have to “forgive and forget” and, experiencing things through their eyes “gives you a chance to remember when” and “teach you that you can never stop growing.”

Madeline learned how much she has affected at least one of the children she helped when, after nearly 20 years of not seeing each other, he approached her in a supermarket and told her that he remembered her. When she asked what it was that made him remember her, he patted his chest and said “Because you were soft right here.” This young man, who once required Madeline’s assistance to thrive, was able to go on to study medicine at Stony Brook University, in part, no doubt, because of the care she gave him early in his life.

In addition to her current volunteer work, Madeline is a member of two choirs, the Center Moriches Choir, with which she performs The Messiah, and The Silver Chords, which is comprised of a group of seniors who provide entertainment in schools and nursing homes throughout Suffolk County.

One of 10 children, Madeline has always been strongly involved in her community and in working to improve the world around her. She was the first African-American female hired by the New York Telephone Company when she joined the company in 1943. She had to overcome the challenge of segregation and faced many discriminatory issues, such as having a separate restroom, people not wanting to sit near her and the Red Cross refusing to take her blood. Madeline overcame these challenges by advocating for herself and people of all races, and ultimately had a 40-year career with the company, retiring at the position of supervisor.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Madeline belonged to the Civil Rights Movement and worked to integrate people of color into historically all-white neighborhoods. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King in 1964 to help gain civil rights, and advocated in the South to allow equal opportunities for minorities. She has also worked for the Board of Elections in order to spread the word about the importance of voting, and believes that voting is an effective means of creating positive change.

Because she still believes in making others as educated as they can be about the issues that affect them, Madeline works to educate others in the community, through church and school, about Alzheimer’s Disease, a disease that one of her brothers is suffering with and that her sister-in-law suffered with for 30 years prior to her death. She attends trainings and meetings at St. Charles Hospital so that she can be as informed as possible (explaining that by the year 2025, it is expected that one in every 10 people will be a victim of Alzheimer’s), thereby making her educational efforts more valuable.

Joe O’Loughlin

Joe O’Loughlin was born in Missoula, MT and served 4 years in the United States Navy. He retired as vice president of restaurants after working 30 years for 4-B’s Restaurants. Joe has been an exemplary volunteer for RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program through Missoula Aging Services) for the past 8 years. During these 8 years he has donated 1,615 hours. This equates to a whopping $30,303.55, using the standard hourly value of a volunteer’s time.

Through RSVP, he has concentrated his efforts to make Missoula neighborhoods a better place to live. He volunteers by stocking City of Missoula Police and Detective vehicles.

Joe usually works 3 or 4 hours a day, for two days each week, outside in all sorts of hot, cold, rainy, snowy and smoky weather. He is never deterred and these efforts allow the Police officers and detectives to concentrate their time on keeping Missoula neighborhoods safe and free from crime. Thanks to Joe, the police are never without their necessary paperwork, first aid and emergency supplies, and items needed for arrests. He even stocks the cars with stuffed animals that the police distribute to children caught in frightening situations.

Some of Joe’s other volunteer endeavors include: Meals on Wheels, YMCA, First Night, Big Brothers & Sisters, Missoula Cultural Council, Missoula Aging Services, Montana Jazz Festival, Montana Super Skippers, March of Dimes and his church.

Joseph O’Loughlin’s exemplary volunteerism has touched the lives of so many citizens of Missoula. He has substantially aided in keeping all the neighborhoods in the City of Missoula safe, through his unwavering dedication to the Missoula Police Department. He allows the police to spend more time on the important aspects of their duties which helps keep Missoula safe and livable.

Lorraine Mikulak

Lorraine Mikulak, a four year RSVP floor captain volunteer at Cathedral Towers, makes it her daily mission to reach out to the elderly population and bring cheer and happiness into their lives.

She serves meals Monday through Friday throughout 18 floors to over 30 residents; gets acquainted with neighbors on her floor; patrols the lobby and parking lot for suspicious people; does security checks in the hallways, gives out referral information about community agencies; reports illnesses to the service coordinator, and encourages residents to become actively involved with their tenant association.

Lorraine also volunteers countless hours for the SWAT (Senior Workers Available Today) program that provides short term assistance with various nonprofit and public agencies. She motivated and encouraged other residents to volunteer with her when they did mail outs at Dreams Come True, Children’s Miracle Network, Hope Haven and the City of Jacksonville’s Neighborhood Services Division. She also participated at the Jacksonville Zoo’s “Spooktacular” Halloween event by greeting over 2000 visitors; did clerical assignments at Lutheran Social Services; helped RSVP put together over 700 volunteer recognition gifts; and coordinated the assembly of 5000 fundraising wristbands for Fresh Ministries with RSVP volunteers from Cathedral Towers.

Many senior citizens live lives of quiet desperation and isolation. They do not have any family members or friends to assist them, visit or just give them an encouraging phone call to see how they are doing. Lorraine prides herself in doing just that. Because of her dedication, she received the Mayor’s Volunteer Female Senior Citizen of the Year Award in 2005 for her sincere volunteer dedication and making the City of Jacksonville a much better place to live.

George Mikla

For the last six years the ninth grade students at L’Anse Creuse High School in Michigan have taken part in the Ann Landers “Valentines for Veterans” Project. The project takes place in all ninth grade English Language classes. Students read stories like The Odyssey and other literature that examines the theme of heroes and explore their own families for members who have served their country in the military. After a lesson on letter writing, students prepare a letter to a veteran in a Veteran’s Hospital. In their letters, the students include references to the materials from English and Social Studies classes, refer to the service offered by their family and friends, and finally extend an appreciation to the veteran for his/her contributions to American freedoms. The final edited copies of these letters are placed on high quality patriotic paper. The project includes taking a bus load of students to Veteran’s Hospital in Detroit to hand deliver the letters. Several students are chosen from each class to represent their classmates, and upon returning from the Hospital, they report their experiences to classmates.

On Valentine’s Day 2006, George, a ninth grade student had the idea of filming the visit to Veteran’s Hospital so all ninth grade students could have a visual tour of the facility, meet some of the patients and share the impact the letters have on the veterans. George became a model of leadership when he packed up his own video camera and spent the entire visit videotaping the facility and his classmates interacting with the patients.

While there, he met a gentleman who was a Vietnam Veteran, a member of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Chapter 129, and a 1962 graduate of L’Anse Creuse High School. This gentleman offered to visit the high school, speak with the students about his experiences, and participate in the video. George taped this visit as well. With hours of material, George began the innovative and creative work of editing, cutting, pasting, adding music and visuals to produce an outstanding 10-minute video. This work was performed on George’s own time, in his home, with his equipment and the finished product was shown to all teachers and students at L’Anse Creuse High School just prior to Memorial Day. As all 1700 students in L’Anse Creuse had been involved in the letter-writing project, they were very impacted by what they saw in this video.

The impact of this project continues as all of our new 430 ninth grade students, as well as all future students, have the opportunity to view this video as they begin working on their letters. This Valentines for Veterans Project will become more realistic and meaningful thanks to the vision and hard work of this young student, George. It was for his contribution of the “Valentines for Vets Video” that George won the 2007 Learn and Serve—Michigan Outstanding Service-Learning Student Award.

Jessica Merar

Rather than merely accepting the death of her mother and moving on with her life, Jessica Merar felt the need to take a stand and improve high school students’ lives across the country. While most kids would wallow in their grief, Jessica remained resolute in her cause to give scholarships to kids who have been affected by cancer. The organization she created, The Laurie Merar Foundation has grown into a multitude of chapters, and despite the small size, its goals and impact are incredibly large.

Jessica’s entire family was shocked with the death of her mom. Each of them felt the impact of her in their lives, and when she was gone, all of them were a bit lost. Yet, Jessica rose up to face the challenge of moving on with her life. She felt it important that her mother be honored in some manner that reflected her short time here. She had been dedicated to education, earning two masters degrees, and Jessica felt there was no better way to honor her than by giving seniors money to further their education at the collegiate level.

Jessica’s efforts have helped seniors who, not thinking they had a chance at going to college per financial restraints, open new doors that allow them to continue their education. In today’s day and age no one thing in life is more valuable than a good education, something that not only everyone needs, but something that everyone deserves. The potential impact of this foundation is ever-reaching, as it could grow into a multi-faceted organization, helping students all over the country by not only providing money, but in the future sponsoring such activities as field days and other events to rally support around these kids who seemingly think they are alone in the world. There is no better way to inspire other people than to let people know that these students are not alone and that education is as important and you can obtain assistance for financial burdens.

A lot of times in life we casually walk along, worry about our own business and no one else around us. It takes a special kind of individual to devote their time, energy, and patience into helping others. Jessica is just that; a college student who recognized the need for such a foundation and made it her number one priority. She not only created a chapter in Delaware, but made it a national organization with chapters in two other states, and more to come in the future. In its inaugural year, the foundation managed to give out over $2,000 in scholarships.

Michelle McLaughlin

Michelle McLaughlin has been the BN FRG leader for 112th Signal Battalion, Sustainment Brigade for one year. During that time she has donated countless hours establishing and organizing a well-trained and functional FRG.

Michelle oversees four companies and provides personal guidance to each company level FRG leader. She not only provides the company FRG leaders with up to date information, but support when they are overwhelmed and stressed. Michelle is able to mitigate any sort of crisis situation or rumor that may happen. She is there to assist when needed by any of the other FRG representatives.

Michelle has created an FRG Key Caller book. This key caller book is used by every company and their key caller volunteers. This book provides information such as who to call, when to call, and quick reference information regarding community and installation resources. Michelle has also created a battalion handbook. This handbook provides information to the unit’s points of contact, Family readiness information, frequently requested numbers, applicable procedures for accomplishing various tasks and a wealth of other pertinent information.

Michelle spearheaded an initiative to develop and implement a casualty training within the unit to increase Soldier and Family preparedness in the event of single and mass casualties. She is also responsible for the battalion’s monthly reports. Theses monthly reports include all company level activities, expenditures, new FRG members, volunteer hours and services. The reports are given to the Family Programs Assistant each month and reported to the higher headquarters.

Michelle hosts FRG leaders meetings and workshops. The FRG leaders attend volunteer meetings for key callers, treasurers, welcoming committees, care team trainings, steering committee meetings, casualty workshops, and leadership workshops. This helps the FRG Leaders to be able to provide their Families with better support and resources. These meetings and workshops also help professionally develop the FRG leaders so that they can grow and continue to lead, thus making their military family stronger.

Michelle has stepped out of her battalion countless times to provide guidance and feedback to new battalion and brigade spouses and to also assist the brigade with obtaining support from benevolent organizations. When another battalion in her brigade lost a spouse recently, she donated her time to make meals and provide support through securing support from various military affiliated organizations.

Michelle McLaughlin is a true and positive leader for all spouses. Through her continuous volunteer efforts she has shown her commitment and dedication to improve the quality of living for our Soldiers and their Families and she is a role model for all spouses within the battalion.