FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 25, 2008
CONTACT: Molly Dannenmaier
Director of Marketing and Public Relations,
409-765-7834
molly.dannenmaier@galvestonhistory.org

GHF Annual Meeting 2008 Volunteer Awards

The Spirit of GHF Award, the organization’s top volunteer honor, was presented to the Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund for its longstanding commitment to and patronage of the foundation’s efforts. President Barbara Sasser accepted the award. The foundation’s Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas, Robert Lynch and Patty Gray were also in attendance on behalf of their organization.

The GHF Phoenix Award was awarded to Tom Schwenk, for his leadership in the transformation of the 1838 Samuel May Williams House back to a single-family dwelling after serving as a house museum for more than 50 years. He organized a team of designers from the Texas Gulf Coast Chapter American Society of Interior Designers to turn the Williams House into the ASID Spring Designer Showhouse. Schwenk spearheaded of the donation of more than $100,000 for the project.

The President’s Award for Service to GHF went to Sherwin Williams, a company that has partnered with GHF for 15 years by providing a 30 percent discount to GHF members. William J. Strawn, manager of Galveston’s 61st Street store and Albert Loera, sales representative, accepted the award on behalf of Sherwin Williams.

Five President’s Awards for Distinguished Volunteer Service were given at the Annual Meeting. Jul Kamen, volunteer curator of the new Custom House quilt exhibit series and an active volunteer on both the events and heritage properties committees received a President’s Award, as did Anne Boyd, the volunteer who has played the role of Queen Victoria at GHF’s Dickens on The Strand festival for the past 14 years. Joe Willhelm, a President’s Award recipient for ELISSA volunteerism, heads the ELISSA engineering volunteer committee, serves as chairman of the ship operations committee and leads the seamanship training program. Bruce Kuehn, another President’s Award recipient for ELISSA volunteerism, has served as crew member, mast captain, instructor, and committee chair for the Youth Seamanship and Overnight programs over the course of 19 years of volunteer service. A final President’s Award was given to 17-year-old Sean Moran, a Ball High School senior and Eagle Scout who raised $3,300 and organized 290 volunteer hours to purchase materials and construct a fence around Rosewood, Galveston’s first African American Cemetery.

The Award for Outstanding Historic Homes Tour Volunteer went to Joe Mize, an active volunteer who has been involved with GHF since 2006. A member of the events committee as well as three of its subcommittees, she has been a chairman for both Dickens On The Strand and Homes Tour each year, and has financially supported both the events as a sponsor, donating gift certificates from her store, The Beach Cottage, as well as packaging retail items sold during Homes Tour, distributing posters and brochures throughout the city and serving as a true cheerleader for GHF.

The Award for Outstanding Dickens On The Strand Volunteer went to Mary Branum for an exceptional level of volunteer support for Dickens 2007. She organized costumed volunteers for the Houston Thanksgiving Day parade and all Dickens media appearances including Great Day Houston, Fox Television, the Galveston County Daily News, and the Houston Chronicle. She organized a new initiative that took the Dickens costumed entourage to all the elementary schools in GISD and served throughout the weeks leading up to the festival as GHF hostess to VIP Guests including Henry Dickens and Sue Hawksley and the curators from the Charles Dickens Museum in London.