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The Northeast Connecticut Chamber of Commerce has announced its 2012 Awards. Recipients will be recognized at the Chamber’s Annual Dinner & Awards Gala Jan. 18 at The Raceway Restaurant in Thompson.
Civic Achievement Award
An award given to an individual or group for their broad-based involvement with clubs, civic groups, charities etc. over a long period of time.
The committee’s selection is John Rice. Rice is being recognized for his extraordinary giving spirit to numerous organizations of our area.
Rice has served as the chairman of the Thompson Planning & Zoning Commission, Board member of the Thompson Historical Society, member of the Thompson School Expansion Building Committee, Director of the East Thompson Cemetery Association, and Chairman of the Thompson Children’s Fishing Derby.
The committee said he went above and beyond when he served as the “Clerk of the Works” for the construction of the 6,000-square-foot TEEG agency building completed earlier this year.
His dedication to this project was second to none, with more than four years of service to the project totaling more than 8,000 volunteer hours.
He coordinated tens of thousands of hours of service from community members in the construction and design work of the TEEG building. Rice is an extraordinary volunteer who serves his community in countless ways and with a dedicated passion, the committee added.
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George J. Racine Sr.
Humanitarian Award
An award given to a person in recognition of their dedicated involvement with a specific cause or activity; that which promotes concern for human welfare. The committee’s selection is Roger Franklin of Putnam.
Franklin is a humanitarian in every sense of the word, commitee members said.
He is being recognized for his more than nine years as a tireless worker for Hospice of Northeast Connecticut and the Volunteer Services and Pastoral Care programs at Day Kimball Healthcare.
Franklin has volunteered more than two thousand three hundred hours to Hospice and more than nine thousand five hundred hours in Volunteer Services and Pastoral Care.
This totals nearly 12,000 hours in the past nine years. Just a few of the activities include: Member and former chair of the Friends of Hospice Committee; Committee member for every fund-raising event sponsored by Hospice; Member of the “Cuddler Volunteer Program” (rocks babies in MCH who are being held after Mom’s release); 4-Wheel Drive Volunteer-Transports staff members to work at DKH or Hospice; Notary-so he can complete Advanced Directives with patients.
Business Leader
of The Year Award
An award presented to an individual for outstanding business leadership and active participation in community organizations. The committee’s selection is Jeffrey Rawson.
Rawson is being recognized with the Business Leader of the Year Award because he excels in both business and his commitment to the community. Rawson Materials is a quality aggregate producer that was founded by Richard Rawson in 1947 with its original location on Munyan Road in Putnam. Today, under the leadership of Jeff, the company has expanded to six facilities. Jeffrey Rawson began his full-time employment with Rawson Materials in June of 2001 after graduating from Assumption College.
As a firm believer that it is his civic responsibility and the responsibility of Rawson Materials to give back to the communities, Jeff has generously donated his time and financial resources to numerous non-profit organizations of the region including the Arc of Quinebaug Valley, Northeast Opportunities for Wellness (NOW) organization, Quinebaug Valley Community College Foundation, the Putnam Business Association and the Putnam Rotary Club.
He has been a member of the Arc Board of Directors since 2007. He served as chairman of the Arc Golf Tournament and vice chairman of the Arc’s Capital Campaign.
The committee said his tireless work has helped to raise the organization to the next level, and as such provided financial resources to assist the Arc of Quinebaug Valley with their mission of providing support and opportunities for inclusion for individuals with life-affecting disabilities.
In 2011, Jeff and the Rawson family founded the Northeast Opportunities for Wellness, Inc. (NOW), a nonprofit human service organization dedicated to the promotion of human wellness.
NOW provides education in nutrition and instruction in fitness and sports, regardless of access to financial resources. Earlier this year, Jeff and the Rawson family donated the NOW Field located on Munyan Road in Putnam.