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Award winners Leni Herr, Sarah and Tom DePaolo
Individual Pioneer
Excellence
The
Individual Pioneer Excellence Award recognizes individual Regular Members,
Life Members and Partners who go above and beyond to answer the call of
those in need.
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Leni
Herr (Life Member)
Leni
Herr is tireless in her efforts to promote and support Pioneering.
She has increased membership, volunteer participation and funding.
Leni even initiated the development of a new educational game for schools
called lingo. Lingo is similar to bingo with words replacing numbers. She
has brought Pioneering back to the workplace, where management, employees,
and union members contribute to projects. Leni also re-established a
Pioneer Club that had disbanded. She has renewed the spirit of Pioneering!
In
addition to being Chapter President, Fundraiser and Webmaster, Leni is
also the State Coordinator for the International Coastal Cleanup. She is
Contestant Handout Chairman and Contestant Registration Chairman for the
Sports Jamboree. She plans fundraising trips and has organized Region
fundraising projects and serves on the Region Development Committee.
Leni
has always been there to answer the call of those in need. She takes on
projects, when others
won’t. She motivates, encourages, praises, and always says thank you for
a job well done. Leni averages 20 hours a week on Pioneer activities,
reporting nearly 800 hours.
The
first of Leni’s Pioneering awards came when her Chapter received the
Association’s second-place
award for membership during her first year as Chapter President.
The highlight of her Pioneering experience was being elected to the
Verizon Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1999.
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Sarah
DePaolo (Life Member)
Sarah
has been involved in Pioneering since 1973, and is often the first to
volunteer for projects. She works constantly in the name of Pioneering,
locally with her club, and at the chapter and Association levels. Sarah is currently Life Member Representative and Community
Service Chairman for the Chapter. She also served as Chairman of the
Sports Jamboree this year, her second time in that position. She has been
Member at-Large, Council and Life Member Club President, Chapter
President, Reunion Chairman, and served on the By Laws Committee.
Sarah
has been the Volunteer Registration Chairman of the Sports Jamboree for 22
years. She makes Hug-a-Bears,
knits blanket squares, baby hats, and cancer caps. She helps advance
education, comfort those in need, and raise funds for community services.
She volunteers for the Red Cross, the Cancer Society and works with the
Women’s Resource Center.
At
74 years old, Sarah is still going strong. She learned how to use a
computer and email to help solve problems and stay in touch with other
Pioneers. Sarah has signed up dozens of new members over the years,
signing up 8 new members in one month alone.
Sarah
has logged more than 1,000 hours of volunteer service in each of the last
3 years. Sarah was recently
featured in the Life Member Spotlight in the Pioneer Communicator, an
online email newsletter that goes out to over 20,000 people.
In
1999 she was elected to the Verizon Pioneer Hall of Fame. She is always
there, ready to work and “Answer the Call of those in Need.”
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Tom
DePaolo (Pioneer Partner)
Since
1973, Tom DePaolo has been the quintessential “Pioneer Partner.” The
Kinnard Chapter and the Pocono Pioneer Club could not get along without
him. He is always there to lift, load, register, move, organize, fix and
fill in at Pioneer projects and events.
Tom
is a member of the Sports Jamboree Planning Committee. He is at the site
for four days setting up for his job at registration and helping out where
ever he can. He volunteers over 125 hours each year for this one project.
Tom has an additional 419 hours throughout the year for various other
community service projects, including delivering Hug-a-Bears and cancer
caps to hospitals, selling tickets for fundraising events, participating
in highway cleanups, painting playground maps, and more.
Tom’s
countless hours of volunteerism, representing the Verizon TelecomPioneers
while helping other organizations, helps Pioneers gain recognition in his
local community. When a ramp is needed, the Pioneers are called. When the
highway needs to be cleaned, the Pioneers are there. Tom’s work with
Pioneer educational projects has enhanced our image in the community,
making us known as great supporters of schools.
Approximately
8 first-time volunteers have started helping with Pioneer projects because
of Tom’s enthusiasm and encouragement. These are members who attend
monthly luncheon meetings for socializing only, but have now started
helping at Pioneer projects.
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