MIDLAND For 14 years, the Nonprofit Management Center has recognized different organizations and volunteers around the Permian Basin with its Beacon Awards.
This year’s award ceremony took place Thursday at the Petroleum Club in Midland.
Numerous awards were given out to volunteers and nonprofit organizations from both Ector and Midland Counties.
“We’re thrilled to be able to honor excellence in nonprofit work,” Executive Director of the Nonprofit Management Center Laurie Johnson said. “We have a great group of honorees this year.”
The awards included the Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteer (which includes an adult and youth) of the Year, the W.D. Noel Volunteer of the Year, the Beacon Awards for Excellence in Collaboration, Excellence in Communication, Program Excellence, Excellence in Organization Leadership, Excellence in Governing Board Leadership and the Outstanding Generations Graduate.
“With these honorees, you look at the them and you see the work that they’ve done and it’s not just unique to these organizations that are receiving these awards today,” Johnson said. “You can take it and multiply it by hundreds of nonprofits and hundreds of volunteers who make the Permian Basin such a great place to live because they improve the quality of life every day.”
The Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteer of the Year Award winner in the adult division was Shane Bell from the American Red Cross.
He serves in various leadership roles for the American Red Cross from the local to national level including helping out in Kentucky last December following the tornadoes that brought destruction in that state.
The Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteer of the Year Award in the youth category was Cody Munoz form Midland Teen Court.
A junior at Midland Classical Academy, Munoz has served as a teen attorney for over four years.
The W.D. Noel Volunteer of the Year was Debbie McReynolds from Ector County Independent School District where she has been instrumental in training volunteers and teachers at other schools and facilitating ECISD’s Sharkfinder program at Hays STEAM Academy, Dowling, Johnson and Gale Pond Alamo Elementary schools.
The Excellence in Collaboration award was given to Bynum School, Midland Children’s Rehabilitation Center, Spectrum of Solutions who formed We Are the World.
We Are the World is an adaptive day camp for children with disabilities.
Excellence in Communication went to the Permian Basin Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Program Excellence went to Odessa Arts.
Excellence in Organizational Leadership was awarded to David Diaz who is with Midland’s Community Development and has served on the boards of numerous organizations in Midland.
West Texas Jazz Society Board President Eric Baker was awarded the Excellence in Governing Board Leadership.
“It’s very humbling.” Baker said of the award. “It’s an honor to get this award. It was a nice surprise. I couldn’t do what I do without the support of the board of directors for the Jazz Society. They’re all very hard-working people and they deserve this just as much as me.”
The West Texas Jazz Society runs the longest running jazz party in the world which takes place each year in Odessa.
“It may sound cliché but we stand on the shoulders of all the people who came before us,” Baker said. “Without the people who have led the Jazz Society before us, we wouldn’t be here today so I’m honored to continue with their legacy.”
Phillip Knight was awarded for the Outstanding Generation Graduate. He currently sits on the Midland Children’s Rehabilitation Center Endowment Board as well as being the treasurer for the High Sky Children’s Ranch and is the president of the Camron Stotts Foundation.
Misty Clary is the Chair for this year’s Beacon Award Committee.
“I think the Beacon Awards in general gives us a chance to recognize people within the community that have really given so much of their time and talent and efforts to everybody,” Clary said. “It goes to the heart of our community. The Beacon Awards and all our nominees including the recipients that won, they show the best of our nonprofits. Our community has a lot of heart and these are some of the best of putting that heart into action.”
President of the Nonprofit Management Center Dianne Williams talked about how the nominations are selected for the Beacon Awards.
“The nominations are presented by any nonprofit organization and they are judged by a panel of judges for each award and there are usually three to four different judges per award,” Williams said. “They have a certain set of criteria that meets that particular type of award, whether it’s leadership or collaboration.”
