Alamo Area Council of Governments announces winners of 2006 Regional Awards
San Antonio, June 14, 2006 – Today the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) presented their 2006 Regional Awards at the semiannual meeting of the AACOG Area Council and Board of Directors.
The Regional Citizen of the Year award winner is The Honorable Alfred Pawelek. Former Karnes County Judge Pawelek is being recognized for the many projects he spearheaded during his tenure as Karnes County Judge, which continue to benefit the people of his county, including a 500-bed detention center, which was built with no public funds, currently employs 150 people, and was placed on the tax rolls at 12 million benefiting city, county, and schools. He is also being recognized for his work promoting new offices for the Juvenile Probation Department at no cost to taxpayers. He also worked to form a sister county with Lesnica, Poland, and after he left office he started a teacher exchange with Lesnica. Now retired, he currently serves on the nine county Camino Real Mental Health Service Board, and represents Camino Real on the State Council of Mental Health and Retardation.
Rick Cavender was recognized as the Corporate Citizen of the Year for “Rick Cavender’s Saturn Donor Day”. For nine years, the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center and Saturn of San Antonio have co-hosted the “Saturn Donor Day,” which is part of the largest, national corporate one-day life-saving blood and bone marrow registration drive. This Alamo Area outreach effort focuses on raising awareness and encouraging blood, marrow, organ, and tissue donation. To date, more than 116,000 units of blood have been collected and nearly 10,000 potential marrow donors have been added to the National Morrow Donor Program Registry as a result of this nationwide “Saturn National Donor Day” initiative.
The San Antonio Crime Victims' Advocate (SAVCA) News received the Community Project of the Year. The SAVCA News is a public service that informs the region about crime information and prevention, crime victim resources, as well as missing persons and wanted criminals. The SAVCA News collaborates with area law enforcement agencies, as well as numerous services, governmental, and non-profit organizations to better serve the public and our community. The SAVCA NEWS also plays an important role in assisting agencies and organizations in communicating their information to the region in general and crime victims in particular. Sue Ellen Lewis Scharein is Managing Editor.
Hurricane Katrina Emergency Response/City of San Antonio Public Works Department received the Governmental Regional Project of the Year award for their work in developing and overseeing construction of support facilities for Hurricane Katrina victims. Over 16 days, 990,000 square feet of building space was converted into living/support facilities with lighting, air conditioning, and sanitation. City architects constructed 3,264 square feet of lavatory facilities.
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Established in 1967, the Alamo Area Council of Governments (AACOG) is a voluntary association of local governments and organizations that serves its members through planning, information and coordination activities. The 12 counties that comprise the Alamo Area planning region are Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina and Wilson. For more information visit www.aacog.com.