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Champions of the Community
2005
Martin
Volunteers -- then called the VOlunteer & Community Resource Center
(VCRC) -- presented
two awards during the United Way's Champions of the Community
event April 7, 2005. Here is the excerpt from the program honoring
VCRC's Champions of the Community
JIM DUDZIAK
The vitality of the Volunteer & Community
Resource Center was never more evident than in the past year. When
the twin hurricanes struck our area. Local social service agencies
had a strong corps of volunteers in place to call upon, and VCRC
provided a central clearinghouse for spontaneous, unaffiliated
volunteers to be assigned to help agencies and their clients.
That didn’t happen by accident, and that’s the
reason that the Volunteer & Community Resource Center is giving its
Champion of the Community Award to Jim Dudziak.
 Jim
Dudziak arrived in Martin County with the idea that it is
“payback time.” After a career as a successful executive, Jim
retired to Florida with time and expertise to share. He came to our
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program and found his niche as an
expert in disaster preparedness and response. He put in long hours
to improve the practices of the volunteer reception center, which
VCRC is responsible for opening in the wake of a disaster. He
re-wrote policies and helped organize exercises to put the
procedures to work. At every drill, we would say, “I hope we never
have to do this for real.”
Well, as you know, we had to do it “for real.”
Twice.
Jim volunteers in many other ways in our community – delivering
Meals on Wheels and working with St. Vincent De Paul. Most recently,
he has taken on the leadership of MIND – the Martin Interagency
Network for Disaster – a group committed to filling the gaps in
long-term recovery from disaster.
Please join us in thanking and saluting Jim
Dudziak.
HAM RADIO OPERATORS
This was a special year, and we have
another special award to present. The groups recognized by this
award helped our community in so many ways, on so many levels –
locally, nationally, in disaster response, and with an
outpouring of gifts.
Locally, VCRC and the Martin County ARES/RACES
-- have forged a strong partnership through an effort to recruit and
train more amateur radio operators. Through this partnership, VCRC
has been constantly impressed by the level of commitment and caring
demonstrated by this group of volunteers who provide an emergency
communications system when all else fails.
 Through
their network of amateur radio operators, the American Radio Relay
League learned about the hardships that families in Florida were
suffering following the hurricanes. ARRL sought a holiday project to
support, and the families of Martin County were fortunate that they
decided upon the White Doves Holiday Project. Boxes full of toys and
envelopes filled with checks arrived throughout November and
December – from coast to coast -- to bring a ray of sunshine to boys
and girls who had lost so much.
Please welcome Steve Blary, the
emergency coordinator for Martin County ARES/RACES, to accept this
VCRC Champion of the Community award on behalf of his fellow ham
radio operators. “Seven-Three” to all of you!
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