The recipients say they don't consider themselves heroes but instead just supporting the college and community.
TRAVERSE CITY -- Volunteers are people who go out of their way for a special purpose and usually don't expect any recognition in return. Except this time two Northwestern Michigan College volunteers are being recognized for their efforts and commitment to the community college.
"They both have showed great commitment to supporting NMC and to supporting the students and the community we serve," says NMC president, Tim Nelson.
Northwestern Michigan College president, Tim Nelson says it's this commitment that explains why Bruce Byl and Susan Sheldon are award winning volunteers.
Byl and Sheldon are the winners of the 2009 Council for Resource Development's Campus Impact award in the volunteer category.
"Looking at 12 hundred community colleges in the United States, these two individuals were selected for the impact they made on our school and our college," says Nelson.
The Campus Impact Award recognizes people who have made a significant impact on a community college and its students.
Byl and Sheldon were nominated for their work as NMC Annual Community Campaign co-chairs in 2007 through 2009. The campaign provides more than 400 scholarships a year.
Both volunteers say they commit their time because they support what NMC offers the community.
"I volunteer at NMC because NMC has touched my life and touches so many lives in our community. They give so much to the community and if there's something that I can give back, then I wan to certainly do that," says Sheldon.
"I attended school here and was for fortunate enough to receive a scholarship and that's really made a different in whether I was going to continue my schooling that year or not. So it's not only my way to give back to NMC and say 'thank you' to them but also to help al the other students that were in positions such as I was," says Byl.
During Byl and Sheldon's work with the Annual Community Campaign they were able to increase annual scholarships for students, which helps out during a touch economy.
Despite these achievements though, both recipients are modest and they don't even consider themselves "heroes."
"I just consider myself a volunteer and I'm fortunate enough to be associated with the college and was asked to be involved with
"I think so often volunteers work hard and they're definitely not doing it for the recognition. So when you get the recognition for your hard work it's total bonus, it's just the icing on the cake," says Sheldon.
If you would like to nominate someone for next month's Hometown Heroes segment send us an email at:
newsroom@tv7-4.com.
