PORT ANGELES — Friends, admirers and business associates are invited to a Thursday night reception where seven community heroes will be honored with the Clallam County Community Service Award for 2011.
The award honors the “dedication, sacrifice and accomplishments” of community leaders and volunteers “who have made a difference in Clallam County, who have made our communities a better place by doing extraordinary things for their neighbors, their community or the environment.”
The honorees are:
■ W. Ron Allen, tribal chairman (1977-present) and CEO (1982-present) of the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe — an impressive community and business visionary with a national reputation.
■ Jaye Moore, selfless director of the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center, a nonprofit, state and federally licensed facility in Sequim that rescues and rehabilitates injured wildlife and releases the animals back into the wild.
■ Dewey Ehling, Clallam County’s “music man,” whose efforts stretch from the Port Angeles Symphony to the Peninsula Singers to Sequim Community Aid.
■ Colleen and Ray Divacky, longtime community activists who have contributed energy, hard work and leadership in Joyce and for the Crescent School District.
■ Alan Barnard, whose volunteer activities stretch from chairing public safety advisory committees and spearheading 9/11 memorials to coordinating anti-litter campaigns and promoting local aviation.
■ Stephen Rosales, tireless volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula (Sequim and Port Angeles), Sequim Food Bank, Sequim schools and Little League.
This is the 31st year of the award, begun by the Peninsula Daily News and now co-sponsored with Soroptimist International of Port Angeles-Noon Club.
The seven recipients will receive framed award certificates at a reception that begins in the downstairs meeting room at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 301 Lopez Ave., in Port Angeles at 7 p.m. Thursday.
The reception is open to the public and will include beverages and special desserts.
Admission is free.
A judging committee that included past Community Service Award recipients selected the seven from almost 25 nominations made by individuals, clubs, churches, businesses and other organizations.
“These are truly local heroes, working to make community life stronger, tighter, happier, richer — busy people who unselfishly give their time and energy to help others, who always seem to be able to make time to offer a hand or a shoulder,” said John Brewer, PDN editor and publisher.
