George Aux, VFW named Citizen, Organization of the Year
“Wow!”
That was Ruth Ann Dyer’s reaction to being named the 2014 recipient of the Peggy Allen Lifetime Achievement Award at Monday night’s 67th annual Wake Forest Christmas Dinner at The Forks Cafeteria.
She went on to say that Peggy Allen was one of the finest women she has known and that she loves her hometown, Wake Forest. “It is the place I love.”
The Peggy Allen Award is given to a person “who has contributed at least 10 years of service to the Wake Forest community and epitomizes many of the characteristics that Peggy was known to possess.
In her remarks before announcing the winner, Mayor Vivian Jones said Dyer “is a women who has given a lifetime of loving service to others and her community.” Dyer organized the first Wake Forest Cultural Arts Council, served several years on the Trentini Foundation board and was president twice, has been active in the Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce including dressing as the bee for the Spelling Bee, always helps with the Wake Forest Fourth of July event, and turns up, as she did Monday, to help with setting up for town events like the dinner.
“This woman can be the leader of a group who is organizing an awesome, very formal event, or she might be behind the scenes washing the dishes. She just makes sure that when she is involved the job gets done and it gets done right,” Jones concluded.
George Aux, who was selected as Citizen of the Year, has an impressive background also. He ended his service in the U.S. Army as a colonel with two Purple Hearts for wounds in Vietnam.
Now retired, he helped found the Wake Forest Purple Heart Foundation and then went on to help found the North Carolina State Purple Heart Board of Directors to replicate what was done in Wake Forest to honor wounded veterans all over the state.
Aux is a charter member of the Wakefield/Wake Forest Rotary Club and is active in that as well as in the Wood Workers Club. He makes Toys for Tots in his workshop. He is also making the wood and glass cases for the American flags which are flown at the Wake Forest Town Hall during certain months to honor deceased veterans. The cases are given to their families.
Commander Dennis Mecum accepted the plaque for the Organization of the Year which was Wake Forest Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8466.
The group of only 100 members raised more than $6,300 this year to support veterans in the community. They hold monthly pancake breakfasts, sell hot dogs and icees at Six Sundays in Spring and other events, and send the VFW Food Truck to events year-round.
They spend hours visiting and assisting veterans and their families with donations going to the Wounded Warrior Battalion at Fort Bragg and Camp LeJuene, the Veterans National Children’s Home, the USO and the Durham VA Hospital.
The VFW is working with the town to honor deceased veterans at a monthly flag raising ceremony in front of town hall.
The Rev. Enoch Holloway gave the blessing before the meal. The crowd of 200 at the dinner was entertained by a young singer, Logan Harrison, a student at Cedar Creek Middle School outside Youngsville. He sang solos and later led the crowd in a sing-along.
Mistress of ceremonies Carolyn Coordes and helpers raffled off and distributed door prizes and some of the donated table decorations.
Before she began announcing the award winners, the mayor looked around and said, “It is amazing when you consider all the volunteers in our community and a lot of them are sitting here tonight once again being a part of this Community Christmas Dinner that has bee going on for 67 years. How very fortunate we are to have all of you in our town, giving of your time, talent, and resources to make this a better place.”
There was only one nomination for the Peggy Allen Award aside from the winner, and he was Hugh Nourse. Nourse has been the master gardener and volunteer groundskeeper for the Calvin Jones House and the Wake Forest Historical Museum for more than 10 years. He is a valued member of the Wake Forest Historical Association, the Wake Forest Birthplace Society, the Wake Forest Garden Club and other civic clubs.
Nourse has been a longtime member of the B.W. Wells Association, most recently its president, and keeper of Rockcliff Farm with its native plants where he leads guided tours for groups. He has been active with the North Carolina Native Plant Society and was the chair of the Wake Forest Tree Board in 2005.
There were four nominations for the Citizen of the Year in addition to the winner: Carolyn Coordes, Louise Howard, Jonathan Hand and Jane Wright.
Coordes has been an inspiring regent with the General James Moore Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as well as volunteering at the Interfaith Food Bank, Helping Hands at Stony Hill Baptist Church and the Backpack Buddies program.
Howard has chaired the Historic Preservation Commission for several years, organizing the biennial Christmas Home Tour, been a leader in the Wake Forest Garden Club, making sure there are plenty of flowers for the Flower Cart project which takes small bouquets to shut-ins and the elderly. She organizes the Mad Hatters Tea Party each spring and provides flower arrangements at the Wake Forest Historic Museum, often with flowers from her garden.
Hand “is a young man who came into Wake Forest and showed us how to be involved,” the nomination read. He has been a basketball coach in the parks and recreation program and in the Y Indian Guides, he served on the Trentini Foundation, the Downtown Revitalization and the Chamber of Commerce boards of directors. He was the major gifts chairman for the YMCA’s “We Build People” campaign and raised over $100,000.
Wright, a Wake Forest native, is a member of the Wake Forest Woman’s Club, the DAR, and Wake Forest Baptist Church. She delivers meals for Meals on Wheels and makes pies for the Wake Forest Fire Department’s Fish Fry every year as well as delivering some of those plates.
There were five other nominations for Organization of the Year: the Wakefield/Wake Forest Rotary Club, Wake Forest Downtown, the Wake Forest Lions Club, the Wake Forest Rotary Club, and the Kerr YMCA and YMCA at the Factory.
Wakefield/Wake Forest Rotary Club members raised over $15,000 for programs for children and youth but also volunteered at the Wake Forest High School Special Needs Prom, reading to children at the YMCA Camp High Hopes, helping children after school in the Y-Learning Program, packing meals for Stop Hunger now and keeping a section of Ligon Mill Road clear of trash through the Adopt a Highway program.
Wake Forest Downtown is working to foster the health and vitality of the historic downtown by installing the planters donated by the Wake Forest Garden Club, providing grants for façade improvements, and bringing thousands of visitors to downtown by sponsoring events like the Classic Car Show, Dirt Day, the Holiday Open House and the Christmas Parade.
The Wake Forest Lions Club helps those with visual disabilities by providing eye screening services and raising money to provide exams, glasses and other visual equipment to those in need. They collect and distribute glasses. They started a Leo Club at Wake Forest High School and worked with the students to enhance the greenway behind the school. This won them a Green Award at the Arbor Day Celebration. With the Leo Club they brought 18 students from the Governor Morehead School to town to enjoy a bowling event.
The Wake Forest Rotary Club raised over $25,000 this year which they gave to many Wake Forest organizations serving youth and children. They work with the Wake Forest High School Band Boosters – and share the profits with them – to sponsor Comedy Night, which raised over $16,000 this year.
The Kerr YMCA and YMCA at the Factory has worked for more than 10 years to strengthen the community through programs for healthy living, youth development and social responsibility. When they raised over $415,000 in the We Build People Campaign this year, 100 percent went to provide programs for those in need in our community. The Y has programs for cancer survivors, elementary school students, a summer camp with activities and meals, after school programs, a new free swim program this year that gave more than 200 people free swimming instruction.
