The Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (MV-L CDG), a Main Street Iowa Organization, will host its annual volunteer recognition celebration Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the lower level of the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church. This event, with a fiesta theme, will celebrate the 520 registered MV-L CDG volunteers who cumulatively have logged more than 67,477 volunteer hours since the organization began in 2008.
Enjoy a taco bar with rice and beans, plus chips and salsa while festive music plays. Be sure to stop by the photo opportunity to get your picture taken with Frida Kahlo and her husband Diego Rivera. During the event, the following MV-L CDG awards will be presented to local community members:
Volunteer of the Year: Gene Freiburger for his leadership with the Living Nativity and trolley safety during Magical Night. A team of approximately 60 volunteers from St. Paul Lutheran Church assist with the Living Nativity, which includes a Thanksgiving holiday rehearsal. Gene also coordinates the Christmas Trolleys, this past year spearheading the new safety gates for First Street and Highway 1 that allow for safer trolley and pedestrian crossing during the event.
Business of the Year: Jen Juhl and White House Bakery as the journey has a storybook evolution: Jen started selling her goods from her home and then moved into the Old School Shops at the First Street Community Center. Last year, White Tree Bakery moved into the corner storefront of First Street and First Avenue West. White Tree Bakery not only adds sweet and savory flavors to uptown Mount Vernon, but they also promote the community, its events, and are always willing to help other nonprofits and community groups.
Committee of the Year: Lisbon Historical Preservation Commission for their success in getting Lisbon Main Street (Nov 2019) and Meyers Farmstead barns and outbuildings (Feb 2021) listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This year they also completed facade restoration on the Lisbon Public Library with the Meyers Farmstead restoration and rehabilitation ongoing since 2020. Committee members include Rebecca Hess, Marc Mohn, Alexandra McKendree, Amelia Kibbie, and Ann Opatz, who have averaged 630 volunteer hours per year, over the last five years working on projects. In addition, John Bardsley, liaison to the Lisbon City Council, provided advocacy for the group’s mission to preserve, protect, and promote the history of Lisbon.
Citizens of the Year: Les and Katrina Garner first served our community for 16 years as President and First Lady at Cornell College. Katrina played a key role in the creation of Chalk the Walk, The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council, The Lincoln Highway Arts Festival, and the Mount Vernon 2 Sculpture Trail. Together this year the Garners established the Mount Vernon Community Betterment Fund at The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation and established endowed funds at the Community Foundation to benefit arts in the Mount Vernon public schools, the Lisbon and Mount Vernon Public Libraries, Cornell College, the Sculpture Trail, and The Mount Vernon Area Arts Council.
“I hope the entire community will join us at our fiesta to celebrate our timeless and tireless volunteers,” said Amy Hall Haney, Chair of the MV-L CDG Organization Committee. “Please dress festively and dig out your best party/fiesta clothes and join us in thanking all who make our communities better.”