At last Wednesday’s MVCSD meeting, Board members didn’t have to look too far to choose the recipient of the 2023 Chuck Osborne Award, when they recognized Board President Gorke as their outstanding local volunteer.
While Board members considered recommendations from the community, many residents recommended Buddy Stogner be 2023’s recipient. Vice President Lynn Watts nominated Stogner’s wife Tammy because, “behind every strong man, there’s a strong woman.” Regardless, Buddy Stogner was already the previous recipient in 2020, which was the last time the district held the volunteer award due to lack of visible activity during pandemic measures.
President Gorke nominated Park Commissioner Steve Hayden. Gorke said to Hayden: “You’re volunteering for the community by serving on the Board of Directors. You’re also involved in a lot of the events, the sports league, and everything else, so you’re my recommendation.”
In turn, Finance Director Johnny Tolbert, also a previous recipient of the award, nominated President Gorke, citing “all the hell she went through in the first four months of this year with keeping the district running, all the Ad-Hoc and special meetings—that woman’s been through a lot.”
Tolbert made a motion for Gorke to receive the award, which was immediately passed 5 – 0.
