Three From Brookhaven Lab Receive President's Volunteer Service Award for 4,000-Plus Lifetime Hours of Service to the Long Island Community
July 11, 2007
UPTON, NY - For their 4,000-plus lifetime hours of volunteer work, Richard Lutz, who is an employee at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, and Brookhaven Lab retirees Ella McLean and Richard Skelton were recently honored with President George W. Bush's top Volunteer Service Award.
They were among 180 Brookhaven Lab and University Hospital at Stony Brook volunteers to receive a Presidential Service Award, given at one of four levels depending upon the number of volunteer hours they worked within the community. Jeffrey Kupfer, DOE's Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Energy, made the presentation to the three honorees at a ceremony held at Brookhaven Lab.
Established in 2003, the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation created the President's Volunteer Service Award Program to thank those Americans who set a standard for service to others. DOE is among the more than 14,000 certifying organizations that bestowed more than 610,000 awards to the nation's volunteers. The award includes a pin, a certificate of achievement, a congratulatory note from President Bush, and a letter from the President's Council. When presented through DOE, awardees also receive a congratulatory letter from Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.
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Richard Lutz being congratulated by Jeffrey Kupfer, the U.S. Department of Energys Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Energy. (Click on image to download a high-resolution version.)
Richard Lutz, a water treatment engineer at Brookhaven Lab since 1990, has served as a volunteer firefighter in the Ronkonkoma Fire Department for 43 years, and, at present, he is a commissioner within the department. For ten years, he volunteered with the Ronkonkoma Little League, for which he served as treasurer. For the past four years, he has been a volunteer with the Ronkonkoma Chamber of Commerce; the Ronkonkoma Historical Society, of which he is a member of its board of directors; the Veterans of Foreign Wars of Ronkonkoma, of which he is now the post commander; and the American Legion of Ronkonkoma.
Lutz said, "I enjoy volunteering and I will continue to volunteer for as long as I am healthy and able to do so because it is an excellent way to give back to the community that I call home."
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Ella McLean being congratulated by Jeffrey Kupfer, the U.S. Department of Energys Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Energy. (Click on image to download a high-resolution version.)
Ella McLean, who started her career at Brookhaven Lab in 1966 as a clerk and retired in 1988 as a senior photographic technician, has been a volunteer for various local youth and religious groups and Brookhaven Memorial Hospital for 47 years. She helped to set up the gift shop at the hospital when it first opened in 1957, and, to this day, at age 86, she still volunteers there two days per week.
McLean has served on committees of the local PTA, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, and she was president of South Suffolk Girl Scouts Council, being the first African-American to serve in that top post. Since 1948, McLean has volunteered as the choir musician and director for Christian Youth Education at her church, the Grace AME Zion Church of Patchogue. She also is treasurer of the church's board of trustees.
"Volunteering keeps me going," said McLean. "It's a good reason to get up in the morning. I love it."
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Richard Skelton being congratulated by Jeffrey Kupfer, the U.S. Department of Energys Chief of Staff, Office of the Secretary of Energy. (Click on image to download a high-resolution version.)
Richard Skelton, who retired as an environmental coordinator in 1994 after a 38-year career at Brookhaven Lab, has been a volunteer with the Port Jefferson Volunteer Ambulance Corps for 35 years. He became an EMT in 1973, and he was a volunteer at Mather Memorial Hospital's Emergency Room from 1973 to 1990. Since 1990, he has been a member of the Leadership Council, the hospital's fundraising group.
Currently, Skelton serves on a state-mandated quality improvement team for ambulance personnel at Mather, and he is a member of the hospital's disaster committee, which was formed in 2002 for emergency preparedness in the event of a terrorism attack or a natural disaster. He also attends a semi-monthly meeting of the Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee in Suffolk County. From 1989 to the present, he has been a member of the Port Jefferson Lions Club, and he is chair of the club's annual holiday food drive. In addition, from 1995 to 2005, Skelton worked as a volunteer for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association Telethon.
"All told, I estimate that I've volunteered at least 25,000 hours of my time over the last 35 years," Skelton said. "It is very rewarding to help the local community. I am thankful that I have the health and ability to continue to help people."
NOTE TO LOCAL EDITORS: Richard Lutz lives in Lake Ronkonkoma; Ella McLean lives in East Patchogue; and Richard Skelton lives in Port Jefferson.
2007-10664 | INT/EXT | Newsroom
