How Distinguished Service Award winners serve their communities in 2026
This article is one in a series of articles about what life looks like in Butler County ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary on July 4, 2026. Stories in this series aim to showcase what it’s like to live, work, play and serve in Butler County during this moment in history.
Two Butler County residents, Gail Paserba and Ashley McCandless were recently honored with the 2026 Distinguished Service Awards.
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the country, their service is highlighted below.
Gail Paserba has served the Butler County community since 1987, when she joined the Greater Federation of Women’s Clubs. . This year, Paserba was recognized for her service with the senior award at the 75th annual Distinguished Service Awards.
Paserba, who owns International Quality Consultants Inc., serves on the boards of Butler County Community College, Slippery Rock University, Butler County Industrial Development Association, Endowment for Butler County, Butler Memorial Hospital Foundation, Butler County Chamber of Commerce, Butler County Humane Society, Penn Theater, Junior Women’s Club of Butler, Greater Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Pine-Richland Youth Foundation.
Some of Paserba’s inspirations for her service came from her family members. In an earlier interview with the Eagle, Paserba said she began supporting the free prenatal care program at Butler Memorial Hospital after seeing how the program helped her daughter-in-law.
Another one of Paserba’s inspirations was her late husband’s older brother, Dr. Robert Paserba. Dr. Paserba served as a teacher at Institute Hill School in Butler before becoming superintendent of the Butler Area School District. Many years later, while Gail served on the BC3 board, the idea of creating a teaching lab came up. Gail’s family then donated to the lab and named it for Dr. Paserba.
She said she enjoys serving on the Endowment for Butler County board because it supports area nonprofit organizations, and the humane society board because “who could be against it.”
Despite her commitments as a controller at United Plate Glass and as a parent, Ashley McCandless still finds time to serve the Butler area. Her commitment to service earned her the junior award at the 75th annual Distinguished Service Awards.
McCandless serves on the boards of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and Center for Community Resources. She is also involved in the Butler County Manufacturing Consortium, Butler AM Rotary Club and the Hello Gorgeous program and served on the Butler County Young Professionals board.
At the AM Rotary, McCandless serves as the chair of the membership committee. In that role, she recruits new members and organizes the club’s signature event, the annual “Changing of the Guard” dinner.
McCandless has contributed more than just her time to community service. She contributed new outfits from a boutique she once operated to the Hello Gorgeous program, which provides cancer patients with beauty and self-care services. She said she continues to help the program any way she can.
In an previous interview with the Eagle, McCandless said one of her favorite service activities was when she participated in the Young Professionals’ Ghouls for Good Costume Shop, which provided free Halloween costumes for children throughout Butler County.
“The look on their faces — it’s like they never received anything new in their lives. It was probably more rewarding than anything I’ve done in my life,” McCandless said in that interview.
