Bellevue Honors 8 Volunteers For Public Service

Eight people who volunteer for the city of Bellevue were recently honored with the Presidential Volunteer Service Program Gold Award for their service to various city programs.

The Presidential Volunteer Service Program was established by the federal government in 2003 to recognize people who have volunteered long hours over a year, according ot the agency's website. The Gold Award indicates the highest level of recognition for volunteer work over a year, according to the agency's website.

Last year 5,300 volunteers served over 127,000 hours in 55 programs for the City of Bellevue, according to city volunteer coordinator Shelly Shellabarger.

The eight recipients were among 57 individuals with the President's Volunteer Service Award, a national honor offered in recognition of volunteer service. 

The Bellevue Gold Award winners are (information comes from the City Of Bellevue):

• Ruth Edwards: She leads a group of dedicated volunteers known as Genus II, who catalog and photograph the Garden's plant collections.  Ewards also leads a number of plant study groups where she generously shares her intimate knowledge of the Garden's plant collections with others.  Edwards has been a garden volunteer since 2001; her hours for this year were 1,197.
• Nancy Daar:  Daar has done just about every job at the Garden since she began her volunteering career in 1995. Daar is heads of the docent group, participates for the gift shop, Garden d 'Lights, Waterwise Garden horticulture assistant, special events assistance and Living Lab. Daar served 638 hours.
• Sharon and Dallas Graham: The Grahams were honored last year when they were honored as City Volunteers of the Year. Due in large part to the Graham's efforts, over 166,000 visitors attended Garden D 'Lights last year (the most ever), and donations reached an all-time record.  As the new chair of the Bellevue Botanical Garden's annual Garden d 'Lights event, Sharon and Dallas participate in all aspects of the event including planning, coordination, logistics, teaching, and evaluation.  Between them, they put in over 2,000 hours this year. Dallas Graham volunteered 1,014 hours and Sharon Graham, 1,238 hours.
• Asha Gunabalan: Gunabalan served over 800 hours with Economic Development as an International Arts and Culture Liaison. One of her major accomplishments was the creation of an India Day Festival at Crossroads Mall on Aug. 21.
• Linda Sakamoto: Sakamoto volunteered 725 hours for Bellevue Mini City Hall updating and coordinating operations and systems. Her very contribution has made it possible to keep on top of the many changes in services and programs so Mini City Hall can continue to better serve their customers.
• Travis Roberts: Roberts served 500 hours at Highland Community Center working in the Track Program for our adults with developmental disabilities. He organized 40 adults to practice about 120 individual skills. Roberts trained the 40 athletes in 120 skills and motivated them to continue, teaching sportsmanship in such a positive way. He also raised funds for the Track program to purchase the equipment and uniforms.
• Reagan Teegarden: Reagan, the youngest recipient at 12 years old, served 140 hours for Bellevue Youth Link. Reagan is a 7th grader from Chinook Middle School and an active member of the Bellevue Youth Council. Under his leadership, Chinook Middle School has collected over 630 jackets and outerwear for Kids Care Coat Drive, in which he has been actively involved since the 4th grade. He is 12 years old.