Lasallian Volunteers (LVs) will honor outstanding supporters with the 2013 Lasallian Volunteers FSC Awards. The awards are named in the spirit of three De La Salle Christian Brothers who embody values of Faith, Service, and Community and made significant contributions to the LVs. They are a small way to show appreciation to individuals who make our service possible.
Recipients are selected on a rotating basis between the Districts in the Lasallian Region of North America (RELAN). This year’s recipients are from the District of New Orleans – Santa Fe (NO-SF) and will be presented with the awards during the NO-SF District dinner, which will take place at De La Salle High School in New Orleans, LA, on Friday, November 22, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. during the Huether Lasallian Conference.
Brother Thomas Ward, FSC, from the Christian Brothers School Community in New Orleans, LA, will receive the Brother John Johnston Faith Award, which recognizes a supporter who has demonstrated great faith in the work of Lasallian Volunteers by sharing time, talent, or treasure. Brother Thomas was a constant support to the LVs in his community while they lived and served in New Orleans. He worked to build a relationship with each volunteer and spent time actively living out the Lasallian values of Faith, Community, and Service, inviting the LVs to journey with him together and by association.
Daniel and Sarah Maher will receive the Brother Chris Bassen Service Award, which recognizes LV alumni who have continued a life of service. The Mahers currently serve at De La Salle North Catholic High School in Portland, OR, where in order to keep the Lasallian mission strong, they helped found a unique community of LVs where lay people reside without the traditional presence of Brothers. Daniel and Sarah are both graduates of Lasallian schools. Daniel graduated from St. Paul’s School in Covington, LA, and later served for two years at La Salle School in Albany, NY. Sarah graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona and went on to serve at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, NY. Daniel is one of the first LVs from NO-SF and the first from St. Paul’s. In the spirit of the award, the Mahers have pursued service of the poor through education with great “empathy, creativity, and determination.”
Brother Nick Gonzalez, FSC, principal of Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX, will be awarded the Brother Michael Farrell Community Award, which honors a Brother or Lasallian Partner in Community who has lived with LVs and who holds the community experience in high esteem for himself and shares it with the LVs. Brother Nick has been living and working with LVs for a number of years beginning while he served at San Miguel High School in Tucson, AZ. He currently accompanies LVs in their work and in their spiritual and community life at Cathedral. In the spirit of this award, Brother Nick “supports and cares for Lasallian Volunteers as individuals while living side by side with them in shared community.”
The awards, which were first presented in 2010, are presented annually.