Longtime local volunteer leader and worker Ann Huntsman was honored for her commitment to the community Tuesday evening with the 2003 Blanche W. Grady Service Award.
The award was presented before a large audience in the ballroom of the General Morgan Inn and Conference Center.
Established in 1996 by Greeneville business leader and philanthropist Scott M. Niswonger and his mother, Sharon Niswonger, the award honors Blanche Grady, a highly respected retired Greeneville educator and a 15-year volunteer with Laughlin Memorial Hospital.
Since that time, the Grady Award has been presented annually to honor an "unsung hero" from the local community who has been dedicated to providing valuable but little recognized public service.
"This award has a different goal than the others in this community," said Mr. Niswonger, who presided over the award celebration.
"The award not only honors the ‘unsung’ volunteers but also provides funds to be distributed, in cooperation with the Laughlin Health Care Foundation, at the behest of the winner to benefit health care or for health-care education," Niswonger said.
The recipient of the annual award is enabled to direct grant money toward a charitable health-care organization or service project.
The use of the award money is facilitated by the Laughlin Health Care Foundation, which works in cooperation with the award winner to direct the grant.
This year, Mr. Niswonger presented $5,000 for the grant and an additional $15,000 for the award's endowment in Mrs. Huntsman's honor.
In a surprise event that concluded the evening’s program, Mrs. Grady herself was also honored through the presentation of an honorary nursing degree by Laughlin Memorial Hospital.
She was presented the honor by Chuck Whitfield, Laughlin Hospital’s president and CEO, and Gerri Shultheis, the hospital's head of nursing, who "capped" Mrs. Grady with a nursing cap.
Betty Weemes, executive director of the Laughlin Health Care Foundation, explained the reason for the honor in remarks prior to the actual presentation.
Weemes explained that, in working with Mrs. Grady over the years at the hospital, she had learned that the veteran hospital volunteer had always dreamed of becoming a registered nurse.
Obviously delighted by the presentation, Mrs. Grady said in response that she was completely taken by surprise by the honor.
“This is the most overwhelming moment of my life,” Mrs. Grady said upon acceptance of the honorary degree.
Varied Service Roles
Nominated for the 2003 Grady Award by Jane Brown, Mrs. Huntsman is a retired employee of Sprint and a homemaker. She and her husband, David, have two daughters and two grandchildren.
During the presentation of the award, Brown called Mrs. Huntsman "a volunteer with an extensive record of community service."
Perhaps her most visible community project has been spearheading an annual free Thanksgiving meal in the Glenwood community for the past nine years.
Last year, the event served more than 1,500 individuals, Brown said.
"As well as serving as co-chairperson, Ann has worked at food preparation, organization of volunteers, meal delivery, and clean-up," Brown said.
In addition to the Thanksgiving meal, Mrs. Huntsman has also served with the Glenwood Ruritan Club and the Greeneville High School Choral Booster Club, and has participated in community fund-raising efforts for the March of Dimes, the United Way, the American Heart Association, and the American Cancer Society.
An active member of Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church, Mrs. Huntsman also participates as a youth volunteer, organizing events for the church youth, preparing meals for them and serving as a chaperone for their activities.
In addition to her work with young people, Mrs. Huntsman can also be found helping to prepare meals and provide care to elderly individuals in the community.
She is also involved with the annual Sprint Coat Drive, a project that collects coats, cleans them, and distributes them to those in need.
Mrs. Huntsman also is currently involved in a fund-raising project to purchase coats for children in need who attend the Boys & Girls Club of Greeneville.
During the past year, Mrs. Huntsman extended her service to others outside the Greeneville and Greene County community by spearheading an effort to send clothing for those in need to Morgan, Scott and Cocke counties.
"Ann's life of personal service and helping other people is an inspiration to many," Brown said.
"She is described as an energetic, hard worker who sees a need and answers the call," Brown continued. "She works tirelessly to alleviate the conditions of many who are less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, and the sick.
"Her volunteer work serves as a catalyst for others to become involved," Brown said.
‘Finding A Way’ Theme
The theme for the night's festivities was "Finding A Way."
"Our community has an abundant source of individuals who 'find a way' to make a tremendous difference," Niswonger said, "and that's why the Grady Award was established. We identify them — and we recognize them."
He said that he and his mother established the Grady Award to "recognize the magnificent volunteer efforts of Blanche Grady and others like her in our community, who 'find the way' by working quietly and without a lot of recognition."
Weemes commented after the dinner that “This was an exceptional year for the Grady event — celebrating the life of an outstanding recipient, Ann Huntsman, plus, bestowing the honorary degree on our beloved Mrs. Grady.”
“It was an incredible evening.”
Free Clinics Noted
One of the largest projects that was born from Grady Award grants has been an annual vision and dental clinic that provides free eyeglasses and dental services to some of the neediest individuals in the community.
Last February, 166 local residents received either eyeglasses or dental care through the clinic that was held at the Greene County Health Department, said Betty Carter-Justis, chairman of the Laughlin Hospital Foundation's board of trustees.
The annual vision and dental clinic is staffed by local dental and eye-care professionals who volunteer their time and expertise as well as by volunteers from Remote Area Medical, a Knoxville-based health-care ministry that travels world-wide providing care to those in need.
Many Projects Assisted
An example of some of the other projects and services aided through previous-awarded Grady grant funds include:
• a health fair held recently that provided free medical screenings for 75 low-income seniors who serve in the Foster Grandparent Program;
• a financial donation to the Hope Center, a local crisis pregnancy center administered by Free Will Baptist Family Ministries;
• a donation to the cancer victim assistance program administered by Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries;
• four wheelchairs for students in the city and county school systems;
• a reading device for the visually impaired to use at the public library;
• a parenting program for families of special needs children in the Infant/Toddler Program at Laughlin Hospital; and
• the publishing of a guide, called the Youth Yellow Pages, that provides numbers and contact information for organizations that provide help to youth who are in crisis situations.
Previous Grady Award winners were: the late Adelle Haynes (1997), Della Malone (1998), Terry Bellamy (1999, Tyre Culbertson (2000), Bruce St. Laurent (2001), and Fannie Henderson (2002).
