Annual Volunteer of the Year AwardAltrusa International Foundation, Inc. of Portland, Maine seeks to recognize the importance of volunteerism by honoring a Volunteer of the Year among non-profit service organizations in the Greater Portland area every year. Starting with the first award in 2005, we look for that special someone who exemplifies the principles of service to the community, someone who is simply an outstanding volunteer to an organization and really deserves this public recognition!
The selected nominee receives a recognition plaque and a $250 cash award is given to the supporting organization in honor of the volunteer. 2021 Volunteer of the Year
Ray has volunteered with Portland Wheelers for over 5 years and currently serves as President of the organization, providing about 800 hours of service per year. He began as a volunteer "pilot" pedaling the adaptive trikes that Portland Wheelers uses to give rides to anyone who can't ride a bike by themselves. An avid bicyclist, Ray uses his skills to lead a crew in maintaining and repairing the trikes and drives trucks and trailers to ride sites. Ray trains new pilots and presents refresher courses to returning pilots. He also meets with potential partner organizations and offers demos of what Portland Wheelers can provide to enrich the lives of the people served by those organizations.
Ray also furthers the mission of Portland Wheelers by speaking to groups, participating in fundraisers, taking photos of events, and is administrator of the organization's Facebook age. Ray and his passion for bringing HOPE and the gift of a cycle ride to shut-ins are awe-inspiring! Sue Walls from Portland Wheelers who nominated Ray, said, "The wheelers love riding with Ray, who cracks silly jokes and is incredibly kind and patient with them. He never fails to respect other volunteers, caregivers, and safety protocols whenever we ride. " She shared with us many beautiful photos showing all the smiling faces. Please visit them at https://portlandwheelers.org/ |
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Past Volunteers of the Year
2005 - Patricia Beville - Root Cellar
2006 - The Heggeman Family - Maine Senior Games 2007 - Rick Rosu-Myles - Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Southern Maine 2008 - Elizabeth Oatley - Tate House Museum 2009 - Patsy Thompson Leavitt - Leavitt's Mill Free Health Center 2010 - Connie & Denis Netto - Portland Adult Education 2011 - Fran Seeley - PROP Foster Grandparents Program 2012 - Sandra Grubb - Trauma Intervention Program 2013 - Kim Lee - Morrison Center 2014 - Celena Moreau - CASA, Inc. 2015 - Marilyn Goodreau - Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals. 2016 - Ann Smith - Portland Mentoring Alliance 2017 - Toni Parise - Center for Grieving Children 2018 - Dot Gonyea - Camp Sunshine 2019 - Christine Arlander - Catherine Morrill Day Nursery. 2020 – Cathy Hendrix – Hospice of Southern Maine |
