LITTLE ROCK — A speech by former President Bill Clinton highlighted a Dec. 18 awards ceremony for volunteers at the Clinton Presidential Center. The event took place in the center’s Great Hall.
Ann Kamps, manager of volunteer and visitor services for the William J. Clinton Foundation, welcomed volunteers and guests, lauding the center’s unpaid ambassadors as the “best volunteer corps in Arkansas and, maybe, the United States.”
Awards included two Spirit of the Center awards;
seven 2012 Silver Service awards; four Bridge Builder awards; eight Cat in the Hat Cool Hat awards (introduced with a Dr.
Seuss-like poem); and a Light the Way Award.
The top 15 volunteers with the most hours were recognized, including Patsy Pack with more than 2,000 hours. Other honorees included David Williams, the American Presidency Docent of the Year, and Julie Hardee, Rookie of the Year.
Top awards for the evening went to Fred Strebeck, Volunteer of the Year, and George Campbell, Lifetime Achievement.
Kamps, and later Clinton, noted that from Nov. 1, 2011, to Oct. 31, volunteers had put in nearly 60,000 hours (estimated as worth almost $1.3 million) and nearly 400,000 hours (estimated worth, almost $8.2 million) since the center’s opening in 2004.
Clinton’s response: “I’m more grateful than I can say.”
High Profile, Pages 42 on 12/30/2012