MASON CITY – The 18th Annual Volunteer Recognition Award Banquet was held at the MacNider Art Museum Salsbury Room on November 18, 2021. The theme this year was TEAMWORK. Around 65 volunteers were recognized for their work on behalf of the City’s Volunteer Service Department on various projects including Adopt-A-Street, Adopt-A-Lot, Beautification, Parks, MacNider Museum events, Highland Park Golf Course, and other special projects including school partnerships, graffiti eradication, tree plantings and administrative assistance. The Shining Star Awards are awarded to individuals and teams or businesses that contribute to the needs of the City.
Rosalie Harden and Josh Olson were this year’s recipients of individual Shining Star Awards:
*Rosalie volunteered her time at the museum making masks for the transit system ridership, putting numerous hours of sewing time towards this project.
*Josh volunteered with the Recreation Department, coaching 1 tee ball team, 1 softball team and 7 different soccer teams – coaching over 95 different youth in our community. The families served are truly thankful for his dedication as a mentor to our future leaders.
The 2021 Shining Star Team recognition was awarded to Karen Johnson, Tammi Yezek, and Nancy Wiltze. These volunteers donated numerous hours beautifying downtown Mason City. Their seasonal floral arrangements decorated the plaza north of City Hall, the transit comfort station and other areas downtown.
Rookie of the Year Award: this is only the 2nd year is has been awarded. The award went to a new volunteer to Mason City, David Hinton. After retiring from the military, David joined Mason City’s Volunteer Program and has been a great addition with his drone skills, he has covered many city projects including beautification, river clean-up, Band Festival, and special events to name a few.
City council members were present to help celebrate the contributions volunteers make to the city organization. Councilmember Will Symonds gave his appreciation and thanks to the Volunteers, and staff from the Volunteer, Operation & Maintenance, Recreation and Museum Departments assisted in presenting the Awards. We appreciate the efforts of all of our valuable volunteers. It shows the commitment and dedication they share with the community to ‘Make Mason City Sparkle’.
The Volunteer Service Department is a department of the City of Mason City, Iowa. The City Volunteer program promotes and coordinates volunteer opportunities within City departments to citizens seeking to enhance the community by donating their time and skills to various municipal projects. For more information on volunteerism, contact Mary Litterer @ 641-421-3372 or mjlitterer@masoncity.net
