TOBYHANNA ARMY DEPOT, Pa. -- Tobyhanna Army Depot named the 2014 Volunteer of the Year during its annual volunteer recognition ceremony recently. In addition to the top honor, several individual groups were recognized with gold, silver and bronze awards. Depot commander Col. Gerhard P.R. Schröter was on hand to congratulate the winners and award certificates of appreciation.
One of Tobyhanna's most extensive volunteer-organized events is Operation Santa Claus (OSC), a program that distributes a variety of items, from toys and electronics to food and personal care items, to brighten the holiday season for residents and clients of many regional agencies. Paula Butts, financial analyst in the Community Services Division, plays an integral role each year in the orchestration and success of OSC, an effort that earned her the 2014 Volunteer of the Year award.
Walter Dorosky, Community Services Division chief, says most people probably know Butts as the person you sign in with at the event, but her behind-the-scenes role drives OSC throughout the year.
"For the last 15 years she has been a part of the core team of Operation Santa Claus that operates year round," he said. "She makes deliveries for OSC after work, during regular days off and on weekends, and her dedication has been shown by the program's success in providing to those in need."
In addition to her role with OSC, Butts lends a helping hand to several local, regional and international volunteer programs including Toys-for-Tots of Monroe County, Vacation Bible School and the HIS School/Dayspring Children's Village in Maanhaarrand, South Africa.
"Paula is a dedicated volunteer constantly assisting those in need. She quietly but deliberately goes about her volunteering every day of the year," said Dorosky.
Butts said it is great to be recognized with such an award, but volunteering is a regular part of her everyday life.
"It's always nice to be recognized, but to me volunteering is more about people helping people," she said. "You never know when you might be the one in need. I take pride in doing whatever I can to help."
A runner-up to the volunteer of the year was also named during the ceremony and was recognized for being a "sparkplug" for fundraising events and an active member of the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Family Support Group.
Mary Ellen Boandl, property disposal clerk, joined the support group in 2011 after accepting a position with DLA, a tenant organization here. Over the last four years, Boandl has organized Yankee Candle fundraisers, soup and sandwich sales, and has volunteered for local Day of Caring events. Her biggest volunteer effort, however, is one outside the gates of the depot.
"When Mary Ellen isn't hard at work for DLA, she can be found helping organize various charity motorcycle rides for local charities," said Rich Schloendorn, DLA Family Support Group.
Boandl's work with the Hamlin Hawgs Motorcycle club, a group her late husband started, annually raises several thousand dollars to support local charities and those in need through the Andy Boandl Memorial Ride.
Boandl says that having an attitude to continually give back to the community has helped her through difficult times and in raising her children.
"Throughout my life, people were very generous to me, which made me vow to give back as much as I could," she said. "I'm a strong believer in Karma and that what goes around, comes around. Maybe the best thing about volunteering all these years is that I have set a precedence for my kids to follow, and they have."
In addition to the volunteer of the year awards, President's Volunteer Service Awards were given to several groups and organizations for embodying the spirit of volunteerism. The Retirement Services Office was recognized with a gold-level award for contributing more than 5,000 volunteer hours through various efforts. Other groups who were recognized include the Association of the United States Army (silver), the Tobyhanna Chautauqua Club (bronze), Combined Federal Campaign (bronze), and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (bronze).
The depot boasts more than 125 registered volunteers representing a dozen recognized volunteer groups on the installation. Tobyhanna contributed 7,395 hours of volunteer service last year, totaling a savings of $162,257. Nicole Nelson, social services representative in the Installation Services Directorate, said volunteer support at Tobyhanna is widespread.
"Depot volunteers, including civilian employees, service members and their families, are so giving of their time in supporting volunteer activities organized through Tobyhanna's volunteer groups," she said. "Our organization points of contact are devoted to planning projects, rallying volunteer supporters and ensuring proper volunteer management."
Tobyhanna Army Depot is a recognized leader in providing world-class logistics support for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems across the Department of Defense. Tobyhanna's Corporate Philosophy, dedicated work force and electronics expertise ensure the depot is the Joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
Tobyhanna's unparalleled capabilities include full-spectrum logistics support for sustainment, overhaul and repair, fabrication and manufacturing, engineering design and development, systems integration, post production software support, technology insertion, modification, foreign military sales and global field support to our Joint Warfighters.
About 3,100 personnel are employed at Tobyhanna, which is located in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. Tobyhanna Army Depot is part of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command. Headquartered at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, the command's mission is to research, develop, acquire, field and sustain communications, command, control computer, intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors capabilities for the Armed Forces.
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