Volunteers get tip of hat for magical year
LYNDORA — According to the Lutheran Service Society of Butler County, volunteers make magic happen.
So much so that senior center volunteers were recognized last week with an annual luncheon of the same theme.
Tinsel-filled top hats and magic wands adorned tables at the Tanglewood Center, where more than half the county's 500-plus volunteers were gathered.
Harry Sell of the Cranberry Senior Center and Betty Magyar of the SouthEast Senior Center in Winfield Township were both honored as Volunteer of the Year.
"We normally have one, but this year we decided to recognize two," said Maureen Huff, director of the Lutheran Service Society of Butler County. "Both are so outstanding, we couldn't decide which one."
Cranberry center manager Rita Schweiger said Sell, a five-year volunteer, has been instrumental in setting up and maintaining the center's computers as well as performing various other tasks.
"He's been my right arm and my left arm," she said. "He works on computers. He plans trips, counts money, runs the center when I'm in the hospital or on vacation. He picks up donuts, delivers meals, answers the phone — does paperwork.
"He's been right there for me."
Huff also spoke of Magyar's dedication. In addition to arriving at the center early and setting up for lunches each day, the longtime volunteer leads weekly craft and flexercise classes.
"Oh, I've been busy. That's why I want to retire," Magyar said. "My house has crafts everywhere."
In addition to LSS naming this year's Volunteer of the Year honorees, individual centers recognized local volunteers for outstanding service.Those volunteers include: Helen Albert and Jessie Snyder, Bruin center; Al Salapa and Lois Voelker, Butler center; Leo Campbell and Danny Hoffman, Chicora center; Hedy Carrara and Betty Gee, Cranberry center; Butch and Jane Baker and Tom and Myra Davidson, Evans City center; Kathy Klein and Mary Matko, Mars center; Ruth Wilson and Doris Ziminski, Mt. Chestnut center; Ruby Elder an Doretha Link, North Central center; Edward Getz and Fran Rostas, Slippery Rock center; Mary Jane Bauman and Fannie Smalls, SouthEast center; and Allen Detwiler and Andrew Szakelyhidi, Zelienople center.Methods for choosing volunteers vary according to each center, with some selected by peer vote and others chosen by administrators.Butler County seniors contributed a combined 35,325 volunteer hours last year, Huff said.The Lutheran Service Society has 580 registered volunteers, about 50 more than last year. The group comprises 147 men and 433 women, with 326 between 75 and 97 years old. Close to half live alone, according to LSS documents.Volunteer duties can include managing centers when full-time administrators are absent, planning programs and activities, data entry, delivering or serving meals, cleanup and other tasks.
