2007 volunteers of the year honored
By Hannah Hager
Dr. Byron Brill will be recognized as United Way's 2007 Volunteer of the Year during a reception Feb. 28 at United Way's office in Winchester. Lyndsey Funkhouser, Youth Volunteer of the Year, will also be honored. Both Brill and Funkhouser are Strasburg residents.
The Volunteer of the Year award is presented annually to an outstanding local volunteer whose individual commitment to helping others exemplifies the tradition and spirit of caring, said United Way President Joe Shtulman. The award recommendation form recognizes nominees for their distinguished volunteer service to the community, United Way participation and service, and sustained and prolonged service to helping others.
Brill, 60, has been active in United Way for the better part of six years. He served in 2001 as campaign manager. The motto, "You are the one who can make a difference," headlined his $1.1 million campaign goal.
Brill wants people to know that one person can make a difference.
"Even one dollar," he said. "It's the small gifts that make a difference."
Brill has previously served as the board president at Belgrove Plantation in Winchester, as president of the Lord Fairfax Educational Foundation, and as the chairman of the Boy Scouts in the Strasburg area. He currently serves as the president of the committee foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley and as the governor of Winchester's Rotary Club. As rotary president, Brill has raised money to be allocated for United Way's member and affiliate agencies, most notably through the Day of Caring, in which participants volunteer to do odd jobs such as painting and carpentry for citizens in need.
Brill's volunteer record began in 1979 when he joined Rotary.
He said he believes the club's unofficial motto is "Rotary shares because Rotary cares."
The Youth volunteer of the Year award is presented to an outstanding high school student who has demonstrated a strong commitment to helping others and who serves as an example to their peers.
Lyndsey, 17, was awarded for her work during her current tenure as president of the Student Council Association at Strasburg High School.
As SCA president, the senior has directed and organized the high school's homecoming week and sponsored multiple fundraising events with proceeds going to a classmate's family. She is also the presiding vice president of the National Honor Society, in which she organized a half-court shoot-off and a "giving tree" to collect winter clothing items for people in need.
The passion for volunteer and service work was adopted from her parents, she said, who are both youth pastors at the church she attends. "It's instilled in me," she said. "I like to help now all that I can. When you have role models like that, its hard not to be that way."
"Do unto others" is a personal motto she believes people should live by. "You can't expect others to help, if you don't help others," Lyndsey said
Strasburg High School Principal Mike Dormin described Lyndsey as always giving her time to help. "She's just a tremendous kid," he said. "She's always had the passion to help others."
Shtulman said the winner is voted on by past titleholders of the Volunteer of the Year award, since its inception in 1994. Previous winners were members of United Way or its affiliate agencies and member organizations, but membership is not a requirement.