The Nonprofit Management Center held its annual Beacon Awards Tuesday at the Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
Different awards were given out to volunteers and nonprofit organizations from around the Permian Basin.
“As always, we’re excited to have so many recipients,” Board Chair Amy Hendrick said. “We’re excited that so many people took the time to nominate because without organizations and people nominating for the awards, we wouldn’t have any recipients. So we’re excited about that.”
The awards included the Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteer of the Year, the W.D. Noel Volunteer of the Year Award (which both included an adult and youth category), Excellence in Collaboration, Excellence in Communication, Program Excellence, Excellence in Organizational Leadership, Excellence in Governing Board Leadership, Outstanding Generations Graduate and the Laurie L. Johnson Lighthouse Legacy Award.
This was the first year that the Laurie L. Johnson Lighthouse Legacy Award was given out.
“This is the year that our former executive director Laurie Johnson retired,” Hendrick said. “In her honor, we have established the Laurie L. Johnson Lighthouse Legacy Award. That’s an award given in recognition of someone who has a significant amount of contributions to a nonprofit and to communities. Not just to one nonprofit. This is not an award that we anticipate giving every single year. This is going to be truly representing someone who is leaving a legacy.”
Aaron Gomez was named the adult W.D. Noel Volunteer of the Year for his work with the American Red Cross.
“I think it’s a great honor to be nominated by my organization as well as winning the nomination from the nonprofit management center,” Gomez said. “It’s a great organization that supports nonprofit organizations in the community. It’s great to be winning this honor.”
Gomez, who’s been volunteering for the American Red Cross for over a decade, talked about how emotional he was when he learned about his award.
“I kind of teared up a little bit because I’ve been volunteering with the organization for more than 12 years,” Gomez said. “I’ve always had a heart to volunteer. I encourage people to volunteer as well because even just one hour can make a difference.”
The Midland High football team was honored as the youth Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteers of the year.
“What a tremendous honor and it’s a testament to our kids and that they have a heart to serve and a heart to give back to the community,” Midland High head coach Thad Fortune said. “We also have a lot of support in our community with our booster club and different people that nominated us. We’ve never started doing community services just to be invited to luncheons or award ceremonies but it’s nice to be recognized. This is something our program is built on with trying to make our community better.”
Liz Cole of the Midland Rape Crisis and Children’s Advocacy Center was awarded the Judge Pat Baskin Family Volunteer of the Year award in the adult category.
The youth W.D. Noel Volunteer of the Year Award went to Shiloh Wyse of Meals on Wheels of Odessa.
The Excellence in Collaboration went to Sound the Alarm from Meals on Wheels of Odessa and American Red Cross.
“It is such an honor to be highlighted amongst peers,” Executive Director of Meals on Wheels of Odessa Craig Stoker said. “This is a room full of people that I work with day in and day out. I have taken so much advice from them and learned my craft from them. To be honored by that group is truly an honor. To be recognized for collaboration is very special because I feel that as a small nonprofit, we have to work together to best serve our clients. The fact that we have provided over 300 smoke alarms to clients at meals on wheels is incredible. To have a youth volunteer at meals on wheels be honored is incredible. It’s hard to bring the meals to our clients and to have one of our youth volunteers honored is special.”
The Excellence in Communication went to First Fridays of Downtown Odessa and Odessa Arts while the Program Excellence Award went to the SHARE Family Support Program.
Excellence in Organizational Leadership went to Chelsey Rogers of High Sky Children’s Ranch while the Excellence in Governing Board Leadership went to Bernadette Ostroff of the APS Advisory Board of the Permian Basin.
Outstanding Generation Graduate went to Misty Clary while Laurie Johnson was the recipient of the Lighthouse Award.
“We do have judges and each award has a different set of judges,” Hendrick said. “With that, the judges look over the presentations and the nominations and score them and send them back to us … it’s a challenge every single year and the judges are so impressed with all the individuals and the organizations that have been presented.”
