Volunteers Honored For Years Of Service To Herndon At Awards Ceremony

HERNDON, VA — More than 200 volunteers were recognized for the contributions over the last year to the Town of Herndon as part of the 37th Annual Mayor's Volunteer Reception, according to a release.

Mayor Sheila Olem and Town Council members Naila Alam and Keven LeBlanc were joined by State Del. Irene Shin at the ceremony, which took place Sunday at the Herndon Community Center. They honored individuals who volunteered 100 or more hours as part of 23 different service organizations and groups.

During the ceremony, Janet Hume received special recognition for her more than 50 years of service with the Herndon Woman's Club, the Closet and LINK. Corporate Service awards were also presented to GAM Printers and BTI36, which were nominated by LINK and Cornerstones, respectively.

The following people were recognized with Distinguished Service awards on Sunday:

• Betty and Bill Arey have volunteered for more than 15 years at the CLOSET, each working nearly full-time there. Betty and Bill each volunteered with the Herndon Fortnightly Club and Britepaths, respectively.
• George Price volunteered for 20-plus years with both the Optimists and the Herndon Festival. He also contributed 25 years of service to the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Friday Night Live! concert series. With the later event, Price oversees more than 40 volunteers who make that series a success for 16 weeks each summer.
• Elysa Hersch Birman has volunteered over the last 15 years with the Council for the Arts of Herndon, the Herndon Festival, the Herndon-Reston Rotary, Herndon Middle Computer Club, Herndon High Band Parents’ Association, LINK, and the Herndon Fortnightly Club. She also led the Rotary's “Candyland,” and the Kids Helping Kids Bike-a-thon.