Laboratory retiree David Jardine is the latest recipient of a Vecinos award for outstanding volunteer work. Coordinated by the Community Programs Office (CPO) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, the Vecinos program recognizes outstanding volunteers.
Vecinos, which is Spanish for neighbor, aims to recognize those Lab employees, retirees and subcontract personnel who are outstanding volunteers while also raising awareness about the importance of volunteer service.
The nonprofit organization that is the recipient of the employees’ volunteer service will receive a $1,000 grant in honor of the employees’ volunteer service, while the employee will receive a certificate, explained Debbi Wersonick of CPO.
Jardine retired from the Lab in April 1999 after 42 years of service. He worked in the former Environment Safety and Health Division (ESH).
Jardine was nominated for the award by Lucia Ortiz y Garcia, president of Vecinos del Rio, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and improvement of the environment and way of life in the northern Española Valley. Vecinos del Rio was founded in 1995 and includes membership throughout the Española Valley.
According to Ortiz y Garcia, Jardine served as president from 1997 through 1999 at a critical time in the organization’s history, and in 2004, Jardine became the organization’s historian, a post he continues to occupy while also volunteering as chair of the organization's Cultural Preservation Committee.
“His dedication to Vecinos is unflagging. While he was employed at the Laboratory and residing in White Rock with his wife, Rosella, he made substantial effort to head meetings in the valley,” Ortiz y Garcia wrote in the nomination form. She said that Jardine was instrumental in recruiting broader membership and soliciting funds. Jardine and other members of Vecinos del Rio, also worked with Rio Arriba County officials to write sand and gravel mining ordinances, which were adopted by the county in 2001.
Jardine’s dedication for his neighbors extends beyond the organization, says Ortiz y Garcia. “In December of 2005, when neighbors lost their home to a fire, David, whose son was critically ill at the same time, offered to help clean and make repairs to a temporary home for the family, to seek out donations, and to transport furniture and other sundries.
“David has devoted countless hours, physical effort, monetary assistance, and moral support to Vecinos del Rio and, by extension, to the citizens of the northern Rio Grande valley. He does so readily, generously, unstintingly, and without recompense, other than the admiration, respect and affection given him by those he serves,” Ortiz y Garcia concluded.
All Laboratory full- and part-time employees, limited-term and subcontract personnel, students and Laboratory retirees are eligible for consideration for the award. They must volunteer their time and services to nonprofit New Mexico educational institutions, Internal Revenue Service-qualified 501 ( c ) (3) organizations, government agencies and Native American communities serving Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Santa Fe, and Taos counties.
Individuals and nonprofit organizations can submit nominations to CPO at P.O. Box 1663, Mail Stop A117, Los Alamos, N.M. 87545. The nominations should include a letter from the executive director or chief operating officer of the organization supporting the employee’s nomination. A copy of the organization’s certificate of tax exemption from the IRS as a 501 ( c ) (3) charitable organization, school or pueblo community; and documentation of registration and compliance with the Registry of Charitable Organizations in the Consumer Protection Division of the state Attorney General’s Office also should be included in the nomination.
The deadline to submit a nomination is the first day of each month and nominations are now being accepted for the August Vecinos award, Wersonick noted. The nomination form is available on the CPO and Laboratory Foundation Web pages.
Wersonick said a committee of Lab employees and a representative from the Laboratory Foundation review all eligible nominees and make a recommendation to the executive committee of the foundation, which has final approval.
Wersonick said nominations are reviewed based on achievement and sustained contributions to organizations. Nominations must reflect actual accomplishments by a nominee through service, and the nominee’s contributions must address education, learning or community development. Volunteer service must be hands-on and ongoing, and volunteer activities should reflect innovative or unique contributions to solving problems and issues.
Organizations not eligible for consideration of volunteer-service contributions include fraternal, veteran, labor or athletic organizations that serve a limited constituency; political or lobbying organizations; organizations whose activities are mainly international; national health and disease and animal welfare organizations; private foundations; and capital fund drives of colleges. Organizations not registered with the Registry of Charitable Organizations in the Consumer Protection Division of the state Attorney General’s Office also are not eligible.
More information about the Vecinos award program is available by writing to vecinos@lanl.gov by electronic mail; on the CPO and Laboratory Foundation Web pages or by contacting CPO at 5-4400 or the Laboratory Foundation at (505) 753-8890.
