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INAUGURATION OF MARY HULL VOLUNTEER AWARD
HONORS EXTRAORDINARY COMMITMENT OF SPRINGFIELD RESIDENT
| Mary Hull displays
her "Mary Hull Volunteer Award" at the 53rd Annual Dinner at the
St. Paul's Catholic Church Parish Center on July 14th, 2005. |
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(The following article is taken from the CCSLC Summer 2005 newsletter)
Mary
Hull has been welcoming Springfield neighbors seeking assistance from
CCSLC for more than 10
years. Hers
is the “face” of
the agency: plain-spoken and firm, sympathetic and kind. She directs
people requesting
services, distributes the necessary application forms, answers phones,
makes appointments and keeps track of the general hum of the building,
all on
her own time. Her selfless dedication to her Springfield neighbors and
to Catholic Community Services of Lane County will be honored at the
CCSLC Annual Dinner and Silent Auction with a special recognition and
the inauguration
of the “Mary Hull Volunteer Award” to be given annually to individuals
who offer exceptional volunteer service.
Mary’s volunteer career at CCSLC began innocently enough. She had
been volunteering at the St. Alice Soup Kitchen and was approached
by her good friend Shirley Gartin who asked Mary for a little help,
once a week,
to keep track of client paperwork. A bit hesitant at first, anxious
at the thought of a job she hadn’t tried before, Mary figured that,
as a volunteer, at least she wouldn’t be fired if she didn’t
get it right. The worst that could happen would be that someone would
tell her
she wasn’t needed anymore. Ten years later, its hard to imagine
what the agency would do without her.
When Mary adds up her time at CCSLC, the total comes to 40 hours a
week. Her volunteer service to her Springfield neighbors stem from
her memory
when, as a single mother with three young children, she did not have
the resources she needed to take care of her family. By taking her
seat behind
the CCSLC reception desk, she does what she can to help others face
the same difficulties she did.
Mary knows the neighborhood, living in the area since she was a child
of 3. Born just south of Roseburg, Mary and her family moved to
Camp Creek for several years until moving to Springfield when she was
10. Springfield was a modest sized town in those days, with the
city
limits reaching
to
19th Street. She was enrolled at St Mary’s School in Eugene, attending
until her graduation eight years later in 1951. Hers was the first class
to graduate from the newly built St. Francis Catholic School (the current
site of O’Hara Catholic School), named after Bishop Francis P. Leipzig.
As a young student, Mary knew the imposing figure of Monsignor Edmund Murnane
as he walked the school’s hallways, a noteable figure in the history
of local charitable organizations, including Catholic Community Services
of Lane County.
Like her, Mary’s four children Dale, Dwayne, Linda and Dan attended
parochial school, but she enrolled them at St. Alice’s in Springfield,
where once a week Mary would volunteer in the school’s kitchen to
fry hamburgers for the students’ lunch. She was expert at flipping
patties having worked with her husband at the University of Oregon concession
stands for 20 years making and selling hotdogs, hamburgers and mountains
of popcorn. Her community service includes her 30 year membership with the
Springfield Eagles Lodge, serving a term as president, and organizing Thanksgiving
dinners for senior citizens and writing a grant that won $1000 to go toward
new equipment for the Skipworth Center in the early 1990s.
Mary loves Springfield, and it is clear the feeling is mutual.
Her daughter Linda complains that she can’t take her mother anywhere without someone
recognizing her. She is “mom” to her CCSLC co-workers, volunteers
and clients, giving firm advice or a firm hug when the situation calls
for it. Seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren claim her as
well. At
almost 73 years, Mary has wisdom and compassion that demonstrate a standard
to reach for. On July 14, please join us in extending our deepest thanks
to her.
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