Grothous, Levitt earn 2008 Jefferson Awards

Published:  Saturday, March 8, 2008 (2 months ago)
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LIMA — The Lima News, WLIO NBC Lima and the United Way of Greater Lima have announced the local winners of the 2008 Jefferson Awards for volunteer service in the community.
The Jefferson Awards judges selected eight individuals from 24 nominations submitted for the prestigious national public service award. All eight winners will receive bronze medallions, $350 for their favorite charity and recognition at the Jefferson Awards banquet on April 9 at the Veterans Memorial Civic and Convention Center.
At the banquet, one of the eight local winners will be announced to go to the National Jefferson Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., in June 2008. They will win an additional $750 for their charity.
“Although we have selected eight of the 24 nominees to receive this award,” said Dan Endicott, chair of the Jefferson Awards judges’ committee, “every nomination is a winner because everything these people do make our community a better place to live and work.”
The eight winners of the Jefferson Awards are:
Ronald “Ronnie” Grothous is a familiar name in the Delphos community. His nominator wrote “almost everyone in Delphos knows Ronnie but what most don’t know is how much Ronnie does to make Delphos a better community.”  Grothous states that the community is his family and it shows in the time and effort he has given to Delphos. He is a fixture at St. John’s school and is there to greet the students every morning and he is very involved in their sports programs. His support is not exclusive to St. John’s. He supports Jefferson by helping with the Pancake and Sausage meal to support the track team. He has been known to feed various teams and tells the coaches “send me the bill.” Grothous has been battling cancer for the past 10 years and supports and participates in Relay for Life.  He often transports cancer patients to appointments and visits them in the hospital and nursing homes. He is also very involved in the Delphos Stadium Club, helping to improve and maintain the parks in Delphos.
Gary Levitt is the founder, fundraiser and curator of the Delphos Museum of Postal History. This museum is only one of two postal museums in the nation. Levitt has been involved in the United Way of Greater Lima, was a Visionary Award finalist in 2002, a board member of the American Red Cross, a board member of the Delphos Senior Citizens, held various offices and served as board president of the Delphos Chamber of Commerce.
Nancy Badertscher has been volunteering in the Bluffton community for over 20. She suffers from dermatomyositis, an inflammation of the skin and muscle. This debilitating condition has confined her to a wheelchair since her teenage years.  After high school, she went to the Ohio Bureau of Rehabilitative Services to inquire about jobs for the disabled but was deemed “too handicapped” to be employable. This did not stop Badertscher. Since then she has devoted her time to volunteering at Bluffton Elementary School. She has helped with the kindergarten, first-, second- and third-grade classrooms as well as helping with secretarial jobs in the office. More recently, she also began helping in the Mennonite Memorial Home, again assisting in the office. Due to the declining health of her mother, Badertscher recently became a resident at the Mennonite home and increased her time spent helping in the office and interacting with the other residents. She has taken charge of her life and made giving to others through volunteerism her vocation.
Lula Fields is a volunteer for BABY Project where she coordinates and implements weekly parent education classes for young at-risk families. In 1989, she was a VISTA volunteer and helped establish the program. She partners with agencies such as FRC’s Bright Beginnings, Help Me Grow, Juvenile Court, OSU Extension and Partnerships for Violence Free Families to provide quality programming for participants. Many participants have struggled with issues of trust and often fight the systems and programs that have been put in place to help them. Fields, or “Miss Lula” as she is called, has become a surrogate mother lending advice and guidance, teaching sewing and cooking skills, giving so much of herself to the program that participants eagerly accept what she says and know that her concern and affection for them is genuine.  Her nominator wrote, “A volunteer that has such an impact on a program is definitely deserving of the Jefferson Award.”
Martha Noonan was nominated for the Jefferson Award for her volunteer work in the community and work on behalf of and for local veterans. Her volunteering began when she organized a Girl Scout troop and served as den mother when her children were growing up. Through the years, she has continued serving her community. Actively involved in the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW Post 1275, Martha was chairman of Make a Difference Day with projects ranging from painting the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen to distributing winter coats. She organized bingo for the Elderly Day Care Center. As Hospital Chairman she helps with the crocheting of lap robes, house slippers and cancer bibs and neck pillows for cancer patients and then delivers them to nursing homes and hospital patients. But her strongest passion is for service men and women and veterans who have served for our country. Noonan sends boxes and cards to military overseas. She cooks meals for servicemen leaving and for the military personnel and their families when they return home. In addition to all this, Martha has ridden a motorcycle to Washington DC three different years, the last time was for the dedication of the WWII memorial. This is even more amazing when you learn that she is 83 years old.
Sandra Monfort was nominated for the Jefferson Award for her service to humanity in both her personal and professional life.  Sandy is very involved in Camp Sunrise — a camp for children whose lives have been impacted by HIV/AIDS.  Sandy was involved with the inception of this camp and continues to be involved as a counselor each summer. Some children attending the camp have the disease themselves. The stigma associated with the disease sometimes requires the children to hide the disease from the outside world.  Some children have taken on adult roles in the family structure to keep the family together. At camp they are allowed to be kids. No questions. No therapy. Just a week to be a kid. They develop friendships and support systems that last a life time. Monfort is a moral and financial supporter of the Lima City Middle School Soccer program. She volunteers for the LPD Exchange Club Roller Hockey League. But probably her most selfless act of kindness was donating a kidney to a fellow worker. When she learned Diana Layson had been on a donor list for several years and her health was continuing to deteriorate, Monfort went through testing at OSU Medical Center and found that her tissues matched with Ms. Layson. She never hesitated but said, “it was the right thing to do.” She gave the gift of life.
Bob Thompson was nominated for the Jefferson Award for his work at Lima Memorial Hospital, currently serving as chairman for the Mobile Meals program and volunteer work with the hospital auxiliary.  In 2001 he took over the reins of the mobile meals program. He oversees over sixty volunteers who deliver the meals Monday through Friday.  If a volunteer cannot show up, Thompson immediately loads up his car and makes the delivery himself.  If inclement weather forces the cancellation of the meal delivery, he will make special trips to those who need the meal for that day. Thompson is so dedicated to the program that he rarely takes a vacation or a sick day. He is the first male president of the Hospital Auxiliary. His strong business sense immediately brought a new dimension to the Auxiliary. He developed a strategic plan for the Auxiliary to make the organization a more well-rounded entity. The hallmark of his presidency was that he completed a five year $250,000 pledge to the Foundation in 3.5 years. His nominator said, “what sets Bob apart from other leaders is the way he encourages and motivates others.”
Roselia Deters Verhoff is honored with a Jefferson Award for her many years of outstanding service to Putnam County and its residents. Her 30-plus years of volunteering has had a profound influence on the community. Verhoff has been very active in the Putnam County Historical Society serving as a past trustee and recording secretary. She has written over seventeen books and articles about the history of Putnam County. Any proceeds from her writings are donated back to the Putnam County Historical Museum. She researched and helped erect several historical markers around the area.  Verhoff has written weekly historical articles and submitted historical photos to the Putnam County Sentinel. Besides her interest and efforts for the historical society, she has been active in a number of other organizations. She has donated over 85 pints of blood to the Red Cross. She was a member of the governing board of the Putnam County MR/DD, a member of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce, active in her church and area schools, involved in Artspace/Lima and a member of the Blackswamp Writers Guild and Blanchard River Art Guild. Her nominator said, “Rosie is the best historian Putnam County ever had.”
Judges for the Jefferson Awards are Dan Endicott, chair; Alberta Lee, retired Allen County Commissioner; Dr. Gene Wright, previous Jefferson Award winner; Jeanne Beutler, Director of Putnam County United Way; Kate Gribble, Van Wert Chamber of Commerce; Dan Graf, President Auglaize County Chamber of Commerce; Phyllis Henderson, substitute teacher; Debra McCurdy, President, Rhodes State College; Leila Osting, Human Resource Director, The Lima News; Bob Ulm, Maverick Media; and Tom Hendrixson, Videographer, WLIO.

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