2 Those Who Care Awards honor area community volunteers

BANGOR – A group of outstanding volunteers were honored guests at the annual 2 Those Who Care Awards at the G. Peirce Webber Campus Center at Husson College.

In addition to the 2 Those Who Care winners, Philip Brown received the John W. Coombs Award, a volunteer recognition award of the United Way of Eastern Maine since 1984. Spruce Run was honored with the Agency of Distinction Award.

Award recipients were:

. Jane Weil of Narraguagus Nursery School and a preschool program on wheels called “Us in a Bus” in Steuben.

. Judy Garvey of Blue Hill, creator of Volunteers For Hancock Jail Residents.

. William Knight of Bradford, longtime volunteer. He spends an average of 25 hours a week giving his time to many causes, including the American Cancer Society, the Goodwill organization and the Salvation Army. He may be best known as one of the first faces troops saw when returning to American soil from Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.

. Rachel Heath and Kara Schreiber, both of Bangor, volunteers with Literacy Volunteers in Bangor for more than 25 years each.

Their early roles as tutors expanded to include work as board members, training tutors, organizing special events and developing additional programs.

Schreiber has worked at the Bangor Public Library to set up and maintain a resource room for literacy volunteers. An accident in 2002 failed to keep Heath down and she continues to help plan the annual spelling bee and Family Learning Center activities from her home.

. Frank Myatt of Holden, volunteer in the Dedham-Lucerne communities for more than 28 years. As fire chief, he reorganized two separate departments, combining them into one unit. His tenure as fire chief also resulted in a restructuring of the department, making it more effective. When the Dedham treasurer and town tax collector became ill, Myatt came out of retirement to hold the position of deputy tax collector and treasurer for 41/2 months.

. Philip Brown of Stillwater, driver for the Lynx Transportation Program of Penquis CAP.

He assists residents of Penobscot and Piscataquis counties in attaining medical, social service and life needs. Care and knowledge of his community have given him the skills to transform problems, crises and challenges into solutions. He gets up at dawn and is available weekends and evenings to go the “extra mile,” and has done so for more than 12 years.

Spruce Run received the Agency of Distinction Award. The agency is one of the oldest domestic violence projects in the nation and is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Spruce Run grew from a woman’s discussion group to a force in the effort against domestic abuse. Twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, they are available to those affected by domestic violence to provide immediate support, information, advocacy and assistance.

2 Those Who Care was developed by WLBZ 2 in partnership with the United Way of Eastern Maine and Merrill Bank.