JIMINO AND GORDON HONORED AT DINNER
Junior League doubles up on its community service award
TROY, N.Y. >> For the first time in many years, the Junior League of Troy honored two people with its award for community service.
Rensselaer County Executive Kathleen Jimino and Karen Gordon, former executive director of the Commission on Economic Opportunity, were each presented with the Polly Mason Community Service Award during the league’s Heart of the Community awards dinner Thursday night at the Franklin Plaza Ballroom.
The award was established in 2000 to honor Mason, a volunteer and past president of the
league, with recipients recognized for their contributions to social, economic, educational, cultural and civic conditions in the community.
“I’m happy to be here, and I am just proud to be a Trojan,” Mason said during the dinner.
League President Michelle Hogan said both Jimino and Gordon are both very deserving of the award.
“Events like this are so important because they recognize people in our community and how important it is to give back to the community,” said Hogan. “[Jimino and Gordon] just have so much impact on our community, and they definitely deserve to be recognized.”
Jimino has served her county position since 2001 and, despite her busy schedule, she still finds time to volunteer with organizations such as the Academy for Character Education at The Sage Colleges, the Commission on Economic Opportunity and with public television station WMHT.
“I’m very honored for a couple of reasons,” said Jimino. “One, I think the Junior League does a wonderful job of lifting up women in the community and encouraging them to volunteer in the community, building their professional skillset and, in turn, really making our commu- nity that much better, so that’s an honor to be recognized by a group like that. But, I know Polly Mason personally, as well, and she is the consummate volunteer and the consummate cheerleader for what goes on in our community, so to have an award in her name is really a high honor.”
Gordon began her career with the Commission on Economic Opportunity in 1972 as a bookkeeper and was named its executive director in 1982, filling that position until her retirement at the end of 2012. During her tenure, the agency made tremendous strides through growth in permanent facilities and staff, in the programs provided to the community and its committment to the core creed that given resources, education and opportunities, families can break the cycle of poverty.
“It’s wonderful to be honored here tonight,” said Gordon. “The Junior League of Troy is such a wonderful volunteer organization, and they get involved with a lot of notfor- profits and helping children with fundraisers. That was my life for 39 years.”
The Junior League of Troy is a women’s organization committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.