MCCF spotlights volunteers at annual meeting

Amanda Browning wiped tears from her face Thursday after she was named the Montgomery County Community Foundation 2019 Volunteer of the Year.

“It means everything because in my addiction, people only saw bad things in me,” she said. “And so to see positive things in me, it helps me keep going and it’s just amazing.” 

Browning was given the award during the foundation’s annual meeting at the Crawfordsville Country Club for her work as a founding member of the Drug Court Outreach that became the Recovery Coalition in 2017. Browning has been clean for five years now and she’s helping those who face the same struggles she used to face.

With no experience in leading an organization, developing a brand new nonprofit or making presentations for grants, Browning stepped way out of her comfort zone to make the Recovery Coalition and the Recovery Rec Center a reality. 

“I went through the drug court program and it saved my life,” Browning said. 

She’s described by her peers as “tenacious and tireless” and they say her leadership style prompts the support of others. Browning is currently the board president and basically serves as the organization’s volunteer director, too. She is passionate about her own recovery and equally as passionate about helping others with theirs.

Browning was presented with a plaque for her service and a $1,000 grant to the Recovery Coalition in her honor. 

Since 1996, the recognition of outstanding volunteers has been a staple of the MCCF Annual Meeting. And organizers say that each year outstanding nominations are received and the choice is difficult to select a winner. Nominations for the adult category this year included: Browning, Recovery Coalition; Myra Dunn Abbott, League of Women Voters of Montgomery County; Joyce Kelley, Women’s Resource Center; and Debbie Weliver, Salvation Army. 

Each nominee received a certificate and a gift from the foundation as a token of the appreciation for the contributions for the agency they serve.

Hannah Smaltz was named the 2019 Peggy Herzog Volunteer of the Year for her work at Pam’s Promise.

Smaltz’s primary task at Pam’s Promise has been to organize the clothing donations so the clients can easily find what they need for themselves and for their children. It’s a weekly task to keep things organized, and she’s currently heading up a group of her home school peers to offer a day of service. Plans are to clean up the yard, prepare flowerbeds and other related spring-cleaning tasks.

Smaltz was presented with a plaque for her service and a $1,000 grant to Pam’s Promise.

The Peggy Herzog Youth Volunteer of the Year award has been named each year since 2011. The award is named after Herzog, who worked for many years as the Drug Prevention Educator for schools, working with groups such as Youth to Youth, D.A.R.E. and PRIDE. 

Following her retirement, colleagues and others established a fund to honor her work. An advocate of developing leadership in Montgomery County’s youth, Herzog elected to direct the fund’s income toward an annual Youth Volunteer of the Year award.  

At Thursday’s meeting, MCCF Board President Jessica Bokhart recognized the foundation’s two outgoing board members. Sheridan Hadley and Tom Utley each served two, three-year terms on the MCCF Board of Directors. Hadley served on the Scholarship and Governance committees while Utley served on the Investment committee and on the Audit and Finance committee. 

Incoming board members are David Maharry, Sheila McCormick and Debbie Schavietello. The remaining 15-member board includes Bokhart, Joyce Grimble, Keith Blaydes, Peggy Burkett, Ron Dickerson, Scott Feller, Terresa Hatke, Sam Hildebrand, Jim McBee, Torey Rauch, Mike Reidy and Marta Sweek.

Bokhart highlighted the foundation’s accomplishments of 2018, a year in which $1,284,278 was awarded in grants and scholarships.