Volunteer Alexandria announces annual award winners, Florence King gets posthumous lifetime achievement award

Alexandria’s Florence King, a 2021 City Council candidate who died in December, has been posthumously awarded Volunteer Alexandria’s top award.

Volunteer Alexandria’s 2021 Volunteers are the Heart of Alexandria awards gala has been canceled due to Covid, but top honors were still announced on Monday (Feb. 15).

King, a 2018 Living Legend of Alexandria, received the Marian Van Landingham Lifetime Achievement Award for consistently serving the community over her lifetime. That work included 25 years as a city election officer, and as chair of the city’s Commission on Employment, chair of Agenda: Alexandria and vice chair of the city’s Historical Resources Commission.

“The donation of time, talents and skills of our community’s volunteers makes Alexandria a better place for all of us,” said Mayor Justin Wilson. “Without volunteers, our hard-working non-profits would not be able to fulfill their missions and we couldn’t do what we do to serve our most vulnerable residents.”

Last year, more than 1,760 people donated 62,560 hours to Visit Alexandria. That’s a value of $1.8 million, said the nonprofit’s Executive Director Marion Brunken.

“It is amazing, how many people serve our community and families in need,” Brunken said.

Awardees

• Joan White Grassroots Volunteer Service Award — Eldon Boes
• Joan White Grassroots Volunteer Service Award — Linda Thoms
• RSVP Volunteer Service Awardee — Barbara Sherlock
• RSVP Volunteer Service Awardee — Tami Stuckey
• ASCEND Alexandria Youth Service Volunteer Award — Fatima Eldawah and Ian McDonough
• Emergency Preparedness Volunteer Service Award — The Alexandria Medical Reserve Corps and the Community Emergency Response Team

There are dozens of volunteer opportunities available in Alexandria, including donation sorting, puppetry instruction and reading to elementary school kids.