Unsung Hero Award

Unsung Heroes

The Unsung Heroes Award was created by the City Council in 2001 to recognize individuals who contribute to the quality of life in our community without reward or recognition.

There have been 37 awards presented since the program’s inception, and three more outstanding citizens were added to that number at the Tuesday, December 13, 2011 City Council meeting.

Nominate an Unsung Hero

If you know someone who spends his or her free time volunteering, taking time to help their neighbors, trying to make a difference in the lives of those around them, or sharing acts of kindness with others, submit his or her name for nomination. Call the Citizen Information Center at 503-635-0257 for more information.

2012 Nominations will be due in November 2012.

Elaine Dickson
Over the last decade, Elaine has been and continues to be an avid advocate for senior and disabled individuals in Lake Oswego. She has been the cornerstone volunteer at the Adult Community Center since 2002. Elaine serves as a member of the Lake Oswego Meal Network Advisory Board, Meals-on-Wheels program bringing her expertise as a university nutrition professor, assisting the ACC Chef with nutrition and menu development, providing recommendations for equipment upgrades and replacement. She was also a catalyst in the change from Styrofoam meal containers to molded fiber paper trays allowing for the reheating and freezing of meals for homebound seniors.

What makes Elaine truly extraordinary are three things: One, her heart is bottomless and she never ceases to give. Two, whatever comes in her way; she will find a way to overcome it, to the benefit of the common good and to her community. And three, Elaine has done all of these things while surviving two ovarian cancer surgeries, a hernia, and being a full time primary caretaker of her husband who suffers from advanced staged Parkinson’s Disease.

Colleen Bennett
After arriving in Lake Oswego in 1984, Colleen immediately became involved in her community starting the League of Women Voters of Oregon, serving on the School Foundation, Clackamas Women’s Services, Keep LO Great, LONAC, LO Reads Steering Committee, along with numerous other volunteer committees. One of her greatest passions was when she was appointed to the Lake Oswego Library Board. As president of Friends of the Library, she established a building fund for a new Library with portions of the money raised from the Friend’s bookstore, Booktique. Since its establishment, the Booktique has raised over $1,200,000 for the Lake Oswego Public Library! As cheerleader for causes and our community, many of us have benefited from Colleen’s wise guidance and counsel and most important, her actions! She was a force in the community, pulsating with life, vigor and activity. Colleen loved her friends, and she loved her community. She worked diligently and unrelentingly to make this a better place and a better world.

In her passing she leaves a big hole in our community - we will miss her every day, but she is with us in every moment through all she did!

Marjorie Cooney
A resident of Lake Oswego since 1960, she was significant in preserving the natural environment of Lake Oswego. She was fiercely dedicated to the protection, over development and environmental damage that would have harmed the wild trilliums, gaining her the name “Grandmother Trillium. Working with students, scouts and the City of LO, hundreds of wild trilliums were marked with metallic stakes in the woods behind Freeponds Park allowing pathways to be built through the woods with minimum disruption of this fragile native plant.

Marjorie also was instrumental in gaining the signatures of over 100 citizens to prevent the development of a plot used by the neighborhood children and the trilliums.

As a board member of the Friends of Luscher Farm Dog Park, she was able to work with the City to identify space for two dog parks which many of us enjoy today. Marjorie passed away in July after more than 50 years, of volunteering in the community she loved. Remember her by planting a trillium!

On behalf of the Council and the community, we say “thank you” to all of our Unsung Heroes who make the Lake Oswego community a better place to live, work and play.

On December 7, 2010, City Council recognized Lake Oswego’s Unsung Heroes. Paul Sleeper, Dale Cleland and Marylou Colver received the Unsung Hero Award for their outstanding efforts in the community.

This year, the City is proud to honor six outstanding recipients – Bob Bankhead, Becky Cartier, Andrew Harris, Gail Keck, Renee Kerr and Paula Schiedler.

A true neighborhood treasure that embodies the true spirit of Unsung Hero. This life-long neighborhood volunteer works quietly throughout his neighborhood looking for opportunities to help others. He stepped up to drive his neighbors to doctor’s appointments several times a week, watched and tended to neighborhood homes while folks were away, including mowing the lawns of neighbors who didn’t have mowers or who simply couldn’t mow. Bob is always cheerful ready to lend a hand and inspires those around him by always looking for opportunities to help the community and serving tirelessly and humbly year after year.

Since 2004, without any direct military connection she has singled handedly established, promoted, and donated to her Cards for Guards program. The program was designed to assist Oregon National Guard families in need by providing gift cards for grocery, department store, and home repair while soldiers were deployed overseas. These cards really make a difference. Many of the soldiers are very proud and would not accept help through normal channels, but with this program families can get the extra help they need. Since Becky started the program in 2004, she has raised tens of thousands of dollars to make soldiers’ families lives financially easier.

Since 2005, Andy and Gail have worked tirelessly on behalf of the Meals on Wheels and the Congregate Meal site at the Lake Oswego Adult Community Center. They attained non-profit status for the program and turned a faltering meal network program into a thriving fundraiser and valued resource. Under their leadership they have developed partnerships with local businesses, spear-headed fundraisers and donated countless hours to make sure that more than 20,000 meals could be served to older adults and their families.

In 2002, Renee and Paula co-founded the support network for families of children with Down syndrome. The Buddy Walk event started in 2002 with about 75 participants and has grown to include 1200 people. The walk raises awareness, compassion, comfort, hope and serves as a fundraiser to provide special programs such as educational seminars, family activities, and “Basket of Hope” to parents of new babies with Down syndrome.

On behalf of the Council and the community, we say “thank you” to all of our Unsung Heroes who make the Lake Oswego community a better place to live, work and play.