Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin attended KidSafe Collaborative’s Annual Outstanding Service Awards and congratulated the honorees for their efforts to improve child safety and wellbeing, at a luncheon held April 16 at the Sheraton Burlington.
The 2015 Awards were presented to:
Outstanding Professional: Steve McLaughlin, Social Worker, Vermont Department for Children and Families, Family Services Division – Burlington Office. Outstanding Promising Professional: Ashley Sargent, Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Recruiter, Lund – Family Adoptions Unit. Gregory Packan Esq. Award for Outstanding Children’s Advocacy: Melissa McConnell, School Social Worker, Howard Center/Orchard Elementary School Outstanding Volunteers: Youth Councilors and Participants, Diversity Rocks! International Youth Group.
Outstanding Collaboration: VT Child Health Improvement Program, University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.
Lifetime Achievement: Cpl. Jeffrey Fontaine, DARE Officer, Student Resource Officer, Colchester Middle School, Colchester Police Department. In addition, Brenda Trackim was recognized posthumously for her work with the Tutoring Program at COTS.
The event host, KidSafe Collaborative, is a Chittenden County non-profit that works with dozens of partner agencies, individuals and organizations to improve our community’s response to child abuse and neglect. The Awards event coincides with national Prevent Child Abuse month each April. While the event is a fundraiser for KidSafe, its priority is honoring the Award recipients. Janet Stambolian, actor and co-founder of Girls Nite Out Productions, served as event MC.
Event supporters included sponsors: North Stars Masonry; PC Construction; Burlington Labs; Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew, PC; Merchants Bank, UVM Children’s Hospital; JMM & Associates; Patterson Fuels; Primmer, Piper, Eggleston & Cramer, PC; Ready Funeral; Tech Group and Tech Vault; Trust Company of VT; Channel 17 Town Meeting Television; Concentra; Kirkpatrick & Goldsborough; Physician’s Computer Company; Peds One; Red Sapphire Consulting; Sheraton Burlington; PSAV; BlueCross BlueShield of VT; Strategies for College; and nearly 100 individuals and businesses who contributed auction items.