On Thursday December 11th, volunteers, board members, and staff gathered at El Cholo for our annual Volunteer Appreciation Event, hosted in honor of those that make GRID's mission a reality. This year, our volunteers worked over 15,000 hours to complete over 140 installations, more than any other year in GLA history.
Adewale Ogunbadejo began the night by thanking our volunteers for their hard work, reassuring them that without their continous support, our work would not be possible. He also introduced, Isabel Lopez, who will now fulfill Adewale’s role as Volunteer Coordinator while he moves into a Workforce Development position within the GRID family. Congratalutations Isabel, we know our volunteers are in great hands with you!
While everyone enjoyed some fresh Mexican fare, Adewale and Isabel honored our volunteers with awards. Our Solar Installation Supervisors, witnesses of our volunteer's hard work, presented each volunteer with a diploma while sharing kind words about their efforts.
“This person is not just a volunteer, he has become my friend,” said Solar Installation Supervisor Jose Cardenas as he presented the Roof Team Leader award to Robert Guzman, who was a key supporter in many installations and special events this year. The Volunteer of the Year Award went to young, up-and coming, Jorge Valdez, whose unconditional support and passion for making our world a kinder place do not go unnoticed. This year’s award recipients were:
Persistence Award: Lonnie Garner
Roof Team Leader: Robert Guzman
Ground Team Leader: Garland Floyd
Initiative Award: Angela Carradine
Sunshine Award: Bernie Stafford
Safety Award: William Draper
Volunteer of the Year: Jorge Valdez
Social Media: Wesley Pacleb
Executive Director Michael Kadish was also surprised by Jerry Berberian from Apollo Energy who presented him with an Outstanding Service Award, “in recognition of your commitment and achievements for GRID Alternatives within the Los Angeles Communities." Congrats Michael!
We’d like to thank all of our volunteers for their time and efforts this year. You make GRID Alternatives possible. We hope to see you around in 2015 to continue serving our local communities. We would also like to thank our board members and Workforce Development Committee members, who lend their time and resources to GRID Alternatives Greater Los Angeles.
To see pictures of the event, click here.