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The President’s Volunteer Service Award is a civil award bestowed by the President of the United States. Established by executive order by President George H.W. Bush, the award was established to honor volunteers that give hundreds of hours per year helping others through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The award can be granted to individuals, families, and organizations located throughout the United States. Depending on the amount of service hours completed, individuals can receive the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and/or the President’s Call to Service Award (also referred to as the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award). The Call to Service Award is the most prestigious, and it has been awarded to few Americans to recognize a minimum of 4,000 hours of extraordinary service including honorees such as S. Truett Cathy, Zach Bonner, Brandon Pugh, and Thomas Smith. These awardees will receive a certificate, medallion, and congratulatory letter from President Obama.
Jeffrey Ladnier, Gulfport, Mississippi, is recipient of the Silver Award, for over 250 hours of volunteer service through St. Joseph Hospice. In addition to traditional hospice volunteer duties, Jeffrey has also volunteered to help relocate offices, handle maintenance issues with offices, assist with special promotional events like parades, and serves on a cooking team that has provided boiled shrimp plates to senior citizens, Veterans, and first responders across the state. The cooking team has also ventured across state lines to provide meals in Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, where they served relief workers during last Summer’s floods in Baton Rouge.
Brianna Pace, Mize, Mississippi, is recipient of the Gold Award, for over 250 hours of volunteer service through St. Joseph Hospice, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and Team John Boy, her father’s volunteer team. Brianna has been participating in volunteer events her entire life. In addition to traditional hospice volunteer duties, Brianna has participating in numerous 5K running events and animal shelter events as part of her service through PTK. Brianna is an Honor Student majoring in Art at Jones County Junior College, and plans to continue her volunteerism in the future as she transfers to the University of Southern Mississippi.
John W. Pace, Magee, Mississippi, “John Boy” is not only recipient of the Gold Award for 2016, but also the President’s Call to Service Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, Pace received the Governor’s Initiative for Volunteer Excellence (GIVE) Award, the state of Mississippi’s highest honor for volunteer service, for outstanding achievement in community building initiatives. In follow-up to that award, it was discovered that Pace has been involved in continuous community service on behalf of charitable causes for over 25 consecutive years, an amazing feat which has yielded well over 40,000 hours of volunteer service. This information was presented to the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2016, resulting in this award. In addition to receiving these two awards, Pace and St. Joseph Hospice of South Mississippi will be serving as an official certifying agency for future awards in south Mississippi. In 2007, Pace founded Team John Boy, a social media vehicle by which he coordinates volunteers for his various events and causes. Research for this award discovered that Pace and Team john Boy have assisted over 200 different charitable causes and has been responsible for raising over $5 million for these causes. Pace still lists his work with Batons Children’s Hospital, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and Veteran’s causes as his favorites.
Ladnier and the Paces will receive their awards February 18, 2017, at a private event for law enforcement. If you would like more information on these awards, please visit Team John Boy on Facebook.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
John W Pace
Community Outreach Specialist
St. Joseph Hospice of South Mississippi
(c) 601-506-2395
sonrisepromo@yahoo.com
