Today I had the honor to sit in the presence of ten remarkable men and women, one being my father. He shared with me about a month ago the news that he would receive an award which his associates in town had nominated him for, he informed me it was one person from each of the ten NH counties that was selected from quite a group of well qualified nominated volunteers.
I thought, that's great, he spends a lot of time and passion volunteering and giving and volunteering is certainly a quality both my father and mother has instilled in myself and my siblings, and now in my brother's children as well, how nice for him to be recognized. I however had no idea until this afternoon, just what a significant honor this award in fact is. It's funny writing this, it just struck me,I have to say the teaching by example started for me before my folks, I remember my grandfather always having a
"red poppy" on his rear view mirror in his car, a sign that a donation had been made to the Veteran's of American wars, of which he was one. I also recall him making a point to give blood very regularly, something I have honestly never quite got the courage up to do....
So, the
Joseph Vaughan award is given each year to ten well deserving volunteers. There are apparently 340,000 volunteers in NH (!), and one has to be selected from a large amount of nominations for each county,
my father was selected this year for Belknap County.
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| My brother, his wife and Madelyn surprised my Dad by showing up for the award ceremony. They found a dog to play with a bit while waiting for Jodie to arrive on the capital steps. I know the surprise of these guests was meaningful to my Dad, especially Ms.Madelyn. I also think it was great for her at 8 to see grown ups doing great things and hopefully encouraging her by example to give beyond herself. |
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| Dad had to sit with the other recipients...big surprise, he tucked himself in the back... |
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| Governor Lynch reading a declaration that May is officially, "Older Americans Month" |
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| Mrs. Judy Pilliod of the State Committee on Aging presented dad with his award. |
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Dad with his harem of Tilton ladies...
harem....
trouble....
I left with a few resounding thoughts...all 10 of the awarded people appeared to want nothing to do with the spotlight, they quite obviously by their demeanor and body language, "give" because they feel called to do so by their own soul.
It also struck my that almost all of the folks had physical ailments and challenges, a woman with oxygen, her husband with a stiff limp, 2 men with canes, one of them, my own pops, a 99 year old man, a 91 year old woman who undoubtedly have physical challenges....however each and every one of these folks pushed beyond their own personal struggles to help others. Today was inspirational and I am left feeling nothing but admiration for all the 10 awarded recipients and all of those past recipients. |
