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In This Issue
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Quick Links
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Dear Jill,
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If you're receiving this issue at work, the design
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blocking the coding. You may view a clean version on
the Verizon TelecomPioneers'
website. If you'd prefer a version be sent to
your home e-mail address, please e-mail
newsletter@verizonpioneers.org and we'll
exchange your e-mail addresses. |
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Articles by Deb Foley, president, W.J.
Denver Chapter
Ninety Verizon/ Frontier/ Telcordia (V/F/T)
TelecomPioneers, partners and guests attended
the TelecomPioneer Annual Meeting in Austin,
Texas, February 28 - March 1. Even before the
official meeting kick-off, Steve Kohn, executive
vice president -V/F/T TelecomPioneers, gathered
the chapter leaders Thursday morning to review
the group's 2007 accomplishments and outline
2008 goals and challenges. The Annual Meeting
kicked off Thursday evening in the Expo Center
with a Pep Rally that included a marching band
and lots of fun and excitement. Please visit our
photo gallery!
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Saturday's awards and recognition session was one of the
highlights of the weekend. The V/F/T TelecomPioneers
took home eight national awards this year. This is a
testament to the hard work and dedication we all made to
our communities in 2007.
The Chapter of Excellence Award is earned by
chapters most closely aligned with the strategic
direction of the TelecomPioneers and their sponsoring
group in the areas of leadership, volunteer engagement,
communications and marketing, planning and measurement,
and finance. Chapters earn bonus points for implementing
technological goals and objectives.
The Community Impact Award is designed to
recognize a Pioneer entity's overall cumulative impact
on its community throughout the year and over time,
either in a geographic area or within a community.
Applications are evaluated on recognition as community
leaders, responsiveness to community needs, community
partnerships and recognition, engagement, and impact.
The Project Excellence Award is designed to
recognize the top level of TelecomPioneers community
service projects completed throughout the year. The
award is divided into four categories: Education, Life
Enrichment, Heath and Human Services, and Environment.
The applications are evaluated on community need,
innovation and creativity, involvement,
branding/alignment, and creative funding and/or cost
efficiency.
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The W.J. Denver chapter received four awards that
evening. The first award was for being a Chapter of
Excellence. Over the past year, the chapter delivered
8,000 student dictionaries, averaged 11 hours of
participation per member, obtained six grants totaling
$27,025, and logged 100 volunteer hours per council.
The W.J. Denver Chapter took home a Project Excellence
Award for Education on behalf of the V/F/T Group, for
its leadership role in Dr. Tim Warren's Klimb for
Kids project. Partnering with the Verizon
Foundation, which donated $10,000, the chapter
coordinated conference calls and email dispatches
between Dr. Tim and 11 schools.
The W.J. Denver Chapter received another Project
Excellence Award for education for its Fairy Houses -
A Day of Enchantment project. The chapter engaged
650 children, ages 3-10, in getting back to nature
through reading and creative play. Each child received a
beautifully illustrated hard-cover story book about a
little girl who builds her own fairy house on an island
in Maine. As she waits for the fairies to come, she
encounters and learns about other animals, insects and
nature.
One more Project Excellence Award was presented to the
W.J. Denver Chapter that evening. The chapter received
the award on behalf of the V/F/T group for its Camp
Nawaka project in the category of Life Enrichment.
The chapter coordinated the financial donations and
volunteer efforts of all the V/F/T TelecomPioneers to
the camp. During a four day, hands-on project, more than
90 volunteers from 11 chapters helped refurbish the
camp.
(l-r): Marty Lee, Association President; Diane Rodger
and Deb Foley, Denver Chapter; Steve Kohn, V/F/T Vice
President; and John McCullough, Association -
presentation of Project Excellence Awards for Camp
Nawaka and Mt Everest.
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The Maryland Chapter certainly deserved the Community
Impact Award. Last year, more than 7,000 members of the
Maryland Chapter contributed over 86,000 hours across
the state in 2007. The chapter founded Verizon Reads
with the Pioneers 12 years ago. Since that time, the
program has been introduced to hundreds of schools and
268,320 books have been donated. The chapter was also
recognized for its Students Under Construction project,
which began with one school in 1997 and now is in 13
schools reaching 4,500 students. The chapter has donated
6,913 dictionaries to 3rd graders since 2005,
distributed 129,461 "Vials of Life" to elderly,
disabled, sick, and home-bound residents since 1999, and
painted 112 U.S. playground maps since 1996.
The Community Impact award was accepted by Maryland
Chapter Past President Nancy Mazepa and President Paul
Redline.
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The Kinnard Chapter received two awards for project
excellence. The first, in the category of Education, was
for the Living and Learning Through Pioneers
project. Last year, more than 300 Pioneers and Verizon
employees were involved in raising funds and providing
1,000 backpacks filled with school supplies to the YMCA,
Children and Youth Services, child advocacy centers,
churches, orphanages, police departments, and women's
abuse shelters.
The Kinnard Chapter also received the Project Excellence
Life Enrichment Award for Operation Shoebox. The
chapter has spent almost 7,000 hours helping build up
military morale by sending the soldiers boxes full of
newspaper articles, comics and crossword puzzles, CDs,
DVDs, books, toiletries, snack foods, and phone cards.
(l-r): Marty Lee, Association President; Charlie Hoke
and Arlene Heintzelman, Kinnard Chapter; and John
McCullough, Association.
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The Liberty Bell Chapter received the Project Excellence
Award in the Health and Human Services category for its
support of the Special Needs Party project. Over
the past 33 years, Liberty Bell has hosted 21,475
special needs residents throughout Philadelphia and its
surrounding counties with an annual Special Needs Party.
The party not only provides fun for the residents by
allowing them to leave their centers for an uplifting
time in a new venue, but it also increases the awareness
of the special needs residents throughout the community.
(l-r): Alan Lewis and Helen Joyce, Liberty Bell
Chapter award winners
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Our Estore manager would like to hear
your recommendations on new products. Please e-mail
bruceyennie@verizon.netwith your feedback.
Verizon TelecomPioneers
P.O. Box 4406 . Salem, MA 01970
phone:
978.745.9600
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