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History | Get Involved

Winners and Runner-ups

On May 13th, 2009 ABC Action News hosted a special visit for this year’s Jefferson Awards for Public Service honorees.

In 1972, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard founded the American Institute for Public Service, a 501c3 public foundation, to establish a Nobel Prize for public and community service - The Jefferson Awards.

The Jefferson Awards are presented on two levels: national and local. National award recipients represent a "Who's Who" of outstanding Americans. The national awards are given in five categories:

Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official
Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen
Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged
Greatest Public Service by an Individual 35 Years or Younger
Outstanding Public Service Benefiting the Local Community

Local Winner and Runners Up

Local winner: Miss Betty Perry
First Runner Up: Dianne Villano
Second Runner Up: Sister Claire LeBoeuf

Current Nominees

	"Miss Betty" 2009 Local Winner Jefferson Award "Miss Betty" of Clearwater was chosen for her breakfast ministry at Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.
	Dianne Villano of St. Pete Beach, 1st Runner Up Dianne Villano of St. Pete Beach has collected, packed and shipped more than 3,000 boxes to her adopted marines in Iraq.
	Sister Claire LeBoeuf of Thonotosassa, 2nd Runner Up Sister Claire LeBoeuf is founder of the St. Francis Foundation.
	Patrick Conrey of Clearwater Mr. Conrey works for Clearwater Fire & Rescue as a driver/operator and was nominated by his colleague, Chris Maine, for his work with the annual boot drive.
	Eileen Eletto of Apollo Beach Eileen Eletto of Apollo Beach was nominated for her unlimited contributions to the community.
	Mark Howard of St. Petersburg Mark Howard of St. Petersburg is nominated for making Christmas special for ordinary people.
	David Brown of Sun City Center David Brown of Sun City Center was nominated by writer, Melody Jameson, for his activities as a local activist.
	Melvin MacNeel of Riverview Melvin MacNeel of Riverview formed Foster Angels of Hillsborough County.
	Mark Fowler of St. Petersburg Mark Fowler is the Chair of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Operations. He was nominated by Hardy Bryan of the non-profit group, Selama Grotto Cerebral Palsy Endowment.
	Angela Clark of Fort Meade Angela Clark of Fort Meade is the founder of Operation Love Outreach Mission.
	Wink & Willa Dillard of Lakeland Wink & Willa Dillard of Lakeland were nominated for donating their time and money to kids in hospitals.
	Kelly Wilson of Tampa Kelly Wilson works to reduce the number of abandoned animals and she finds loving families to adopt them.
	Tom Atkinson of Tampa Tom Atkinson of Tampa is a pastor at New Beginnings of Tampa. He was nominated by a member of Atkinson's faith-based drug rehabilitation program.
	James Killeen of Tampa James Killeen of Tampa was nominated for his volunteer work feeding the homeless.
	Delwn Ray Collins of Tampa Delwn Ray Collins of Tampa is known for his charitable efforts acting as "Santa" to underprivileged kids.
	Glenda Smith of Carrollwood Glenda Smith of Carrollwood is nominated for her service to the community.
	Namoi Williams of Tampa Namoi Williams of Tampa was nominated for her numerous acts of kindness around the community.
	Carol Lynn Veierstahler of Tampa Carol Lynn Veierstahler of Tampa is a living example of how important it is to donate blood.
	Candy Grubbs of Bartow Candy Grubbs of Bartow is nominated for her everyday acts of kindness.
	David Gilbert of Riverview David Gilbert of Riverview was nominated for helping others less fortunate.

Past Winners

Past winners of the national award include Cesar Chavez, Jimmy Carter, Walter Chronkite, General Colin Powell, Arthur Ashe, Paul Newman, Lance Armstrong among many others.

On the local level, Jefferson Awards recipients are ordinary people who do extraordinary things without expectation of recognition or reward. By honoring the Jefferson Award recipients, it is the goal of the American Institute for Public Service to inspire others to become involved in community and public service.

By last count, the Jefferson Awards had 147 Media Partners in 93 communities, setting an all-time record. The Jefferson Awards is the nation's largest media partnership highlighting service to America.