Lt. Governor Greg Bell Honors Utah’s Top Summer of Service Volunteers

Summer of Service Winners Receive Private Luncheon and Presidential Service Award

SALT LAKE CITY – In recognition of receiving the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, Lt. Governor Greg Bell and the Utah Commission on Volunteers are honoring three outstanding Utahns on September 27^th, 2011 with a private luncheon held in their honor. The awardees contributed the most hours of volunteer service in their age category between June 1 and August 31 as part of the Utah Summer of Service. This year over 650 volunteers participated in the program and between them they served over 20,000 hours.

Daniel Ovard age 13, Shannon Babb age 23, and Dale Greenland age 53, recorded the most service hours in their age categories over the past three months, earning both a Presidential Service Award and lunch with Lt. Governor Bell.

“Volunteering is at the heart and soul of Utah and it is with great personal pride that I recognize these three Utahns for their service this summer,” says Bell.  “Let their examples serve as inspiration for all of us to increase our level of volunteerism in our local communities”.

Thirteen year-old Daniel Ovard volunteered 236 hours with the Living Planet Aquarium in Salt Lake City. He was the lead youth volunteer at the aquarium for the summer responsible for leading the youth volunteer program. He also spent considerable time doing research on a praying mantis project, evaluating its cost, time requirements, and feasibility for the volunteers to manage at the aquarium.

“I chose to volunteer at the Living Planet Aquarium because I was interested in marine biology and wanted to give something back to the community,” says Ovard. “I found volunteering a fun way to spend my summer.”

Twenty three year-old Shannon Babb, a student at Utah State University, volunteered over 400 hours with the Living Planet Aquarium as well. During her service Shannon discovered that there was a lack of knowledge relating to Utah Waterways. Shannon stepped in and over the summer did all of the research to design several dozen Utah tanks. She also was involved in calculating how many fish and of what species should go in which tank, as well as gathered all of the source data that would be needed for future signage.

“As a student at Utah State University, I feel lucky to live in a state that emphasizes both service and education in our communities,” says Babb. “Volunteering at the Living Planet Aquarium gave me the unique opportunity to not only give back that community, but to teach the public about the importance of water quality, and hopefully inspire the next generation to become interested in a subject I am very passionate about, exploring the natural world.”

Dale Greenland, age 53, from Magna, volunteered his time with the Community Action Program Food Bank in Magna. At the CAP of Magna, Dale could be found separating food into individual orders for incoming clients, unloading trucks with new supplies for the day, and separating the food into categories. Recently the local church organizations in Magna held a food run and collected 7 truck loads of food for the Magna office. This required some additional hours from Dale on Saturday’s but he felt like it was well worth his time.

“The Magna community donated huge quantities of non perishables and I would like to personally thank them,” says Greenland. “The Magna Community Action Program has been great to volunteer for and I enjoy giving back.”

In addition to the three top volunteers, all volunteers ages 5 to 14 who logged more than 50 hours of service, and those ages 15 and older who served more than 100 hours will also be honored with a Presidential Service Award and Recognition Pin.

Interviews Opportunities are available at the press conference with:

·         Lt. Governor Greg Bell

·         Dale Greenland, Adult Award Winner

·         Shannon Babb, Young Adult Award Winner

·         Daniel Ovard, Youth Award Winner

·         Melissa Bowers, The Living Planet Aquarium Volunteer Coordinator

·         Shar Lewis, Executive Director Utah Commission on Volunteers

 

Visuals Available at Press Conference

·         Lt Governor presenting awards to top volunteers

 

Press Kit Available

·         Summer of Service Fact Sheet

·         Award Winner Biographies & Photos

·         Commission on Volunteers Fact Sheet

·         Press Release

 

The mission of the Utah Commission on Volunteers, an office of the Lieutenant Governor, is to improve communities through service and volunteering. For more information on the Commission on Volunteers, and various volunteering opportunities across the state, log onto www.volunteers.utah.gov.