They are the ones who work behind the scenes to make things happen.
Shunning the spotlight, they deliver meals, transport the others to medical appointments and read to children.
But, that anonymity was completely ignored Thursday night.
“You don’t do this wanting a pat on the back,” said Donna Baugh, executive director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program. “Tonight is all about you.”
She addressed the 155 RSVP participants gathered in the Barton Community College Student Union for the annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner.
These folks are a force to be reckoned with, Baugh said. In 2012, 400 volunteers in Barton and Pawnee counties pitched in 50,000 volunteer hours.
That may sound staggering, but she said this kind of effort is not unusual.
The highlight of the evening came when Baugh announced the nominees for volunteer of the year, selected by a committee of volunteer judges. They included: Arleen Branson of Great Bend; Ray Butler of Great Bend; Bill King of Great Bend; Bill Popp of Hoisington; Chris and Rosalie Leiker of Great Bend; Arlene Schamaun of Great Bend; the Hoisington Friendship dish-washing team of Ed Merlau, Larry Ruble, Ed Ruble, Herb Sellens and Alan Ochs; “the two Marilyns,” Marilyn Frydendall and Marilyn Sauber of Ellinwood; Dave Tinkler of Great Bend; Dolores Westfall of Great Bend; and Teddy Williamson of Hoisington.
Taking the honors were Frydendall and Sauber.
Before the announcements, Baugh recapped what has been a busy period for the organization. “This has been a good year,” she said.
RSVP received a grant from the Kansas Volunteer Commission to expand into what Baugh called a “full-service volunteer center.”
Technically, RSVP now falls under the new umbrella of Volunteers in Action. RSVP maintains its own identity serving volunteers 55 and older while VIA works with those who are younger.
“This will revitalize RSVP,” Baugh said.
Barton Community College sponsors RSVP and the college’s Dean of Student Services Angie Maddy told those present just how important they really are. She related a conversation she had with a Brazilian student at BCC.
The student, when asked, said what impressed him the most about Americans was how much they helped each other, especially strangers. He loved his homeland, but said this cooperative spirit seemed uniquely American.
“You are the living, breathing embodiment of that spirit,” Maddy said.