Winners announced for Air Force Volunteer Excellence Award Published April 29, 2009 By 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs staff 60th Air Mobility Wing TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The Travis Airman and Family Readiness Center hosted the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon to announce the nominees and winners of the Air Force Volunteer Excellence Awards, April 23 at the Delta Breeze Club. The Air Force Volunteer Excellence Award was established to recognize federal civilians, family members, military and federal retirees who perform outstanding volunteer community service of a sustained, direct and consequential nature. It is a prestigious award authorized by the Air Force Chief of Staff. The volunteer service must be significant in character, produce tangible results and reflect favorably on the United States Air Force. To be awarded the Volunteer Excellence Award, eligible persons must be nominated by their supervisor in the form of a memorandum or by the voluntary agency for which they donated their service. The Volunteer Resource Program at the AFRC enhances volunteerism by supporting volunteer recruitment, training and placement. They also assist the installation commander by collaborating with other base volunteer agencies and the Volunteer Advisory Committee in implementing base-wide recognition for all volunteers. At the end of 2008, the estimated number of active volunteers at Travis was 993. These volunteers supported the base by being actively engaged in numerous programs. Some volunteers participate a few hours a day and some volunteer eight hours a day, five days a week. "Volunteerism is very much alive," said Tom Brown, AFRC volunteer resource program coordinator. "There were 49,535 hours reported to this office for calendar year 2008." "The hourly dollar value of a volunteer, according to Independent Sector for California, is $22.79," he said. "At this rate, the value of volunteerism in 2008 is worth $1,374,765.20." The data includes 1,264 reported hours for active duty, but there were many more. "Not all active-duty volunteer hours have been reported to this office," said Mr. Brown. "Which means the dollar amount saved through active-duty volunteerism is even greater." The following individuals were nominated in one of three categories: Phoenix Spouse, Civilian/Family Member and the Military and Federal Retiree. The Phoenix Spouse Category nominees were: Sara Burdhardt Deb Carmody Christina Crumrine Diane Soave Basilica Thompson The Civilian/Family Member Category nominees were: Frosie Dickerson Billie Evans Andrea Franzer David Miller Nicketta Osborn Marie Parsons Charlene Williams The Military and Federal Retiree category nominees were: Charles Raymond Johnnie Terry Dave Veenbaas Volunteer Excellence Award winners From the Phoenix Spouse Category: Basilica Thompson From the Civilian/Family Member Category: Frosie Dickerson And from the Military and Federal Retirees Category: Dave Veenbaas