Honoring those who give back
Local volunteers celebrated at annual United Way awards event
Seated around the Hillcrest Plaza banquet room were community members who on a daily basis provide a number of essential services to the Yuba-sutter area, some of whom have been honored in the past and others who will likely be celebrated in the future.
During Thursday morning’s annual Celebration of Service and Awards Breakfast put on by the Yubasutter-colusa United Way, a few more names were added to the ever-growing award recipient list.
“We put the event together to celebrate our 27 partner agencies as well as other organizations that fund the nonprofit agencies in our communities,” said Bob Harlan, executive director of the local United Way. “Another aspect is to honor a few people with what we consider some prestigious awards.”
The day’s biggest honor is known as the Pedro Award. In 1976, the local United Way began receiv
ing a monthly contribution with a note stating “to help others” by someone who identified themselves simply as “Pedro.” Since then, the organization has been recognizing certain community members for their lifetime of caring for others without any thought of personal gain.
This year’s Pedro Award went to T.J. Fetters, the Yuba-sutter area’s longtime director of Special Olympics. He accepted the award surrounded by a number of his athletes and family members chanting his name.
Fetters said the success his organization has been able to achieve wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the local community.
“Every day and every month and every year I’ve lived in this community I’ve loved it more and more, and I would never go anywhere other than the Yuba-sutter community because you folks are the most giving people I’ve ever been around,” Fetters said. “I thank you very much for your support over the years.”
Michele Blake was honored with the Nancy
Ferreira Leadership Award, which has been given out since 1999 in memory of a woman who served as the local United Way executive director for 17 years. The award goes to individuals or organizations that most similarly parallel Ferreira’s leadership, dedication and action, Harlan said.
Blake has served in many positions with local nonprofits, governmental committees and boards, and has been honored with a number of other important awards.
“Leadership – what I’ve done in order to receive such a recognition – it comes from volunteerism, community spirit and hard work. I was taught that at a very young age from my parents, whether it was going to our church or to PTA meetings or veterans’ centers,” Blake said. “I watched my parents always give their energy and time and what resources we had, so it just became a part of me and what I did and part of my value system.”
Yuba County’s Homeless Project manager Chaya Galicia was honored with the President’s Award, which was presented by the organization’s current president, Yuba County administrator Robert Bendorf.
Galicia was recognized for her tireless work and dedication to the 14Forward project, which is an emergency temporary shelter for homeless individuals that opened in Marysville about three years ago.
“I love what I do. I love being part of this community and love being able to serve people every day,” Galicia said. “I grew up serving people; it’s in my blood.”
Former Yuba City Unified School District Superintendent Nancy Aaberg was recognized as this year’s Bill Smith Award recipient, which goes to a United Way volunteer for their ongoing support and commitment to the organization.
“This is quite an honor. Thank you so much, it is honestly my privilege to be a part of this board,” Aaberg said. “…Looking out in the crowd, this is truly the tapestry of our community, and what an honor it is to work together to make tomorrow better than today.”
In addition to individual awards, United Way handed out Service Celebration Awards to four local businesses recognized as providing services to the nonprofit organization over the years, including the Appeal-democrat, Recology Yuba-sutter, Results Radio and Sutter Health.