Once a year the board presents our highest honor, the Connie Cheetham Award, to recognize a member of the congregation for extraordinary service and work in one or more areas of the life of the congregation over a period of many years. Connie Cheetham was the wife of our third minister who returned to Charlottesville after her husband’s death and became the leader of the Women’s Alliance, fundraiser extraordinaire, our first pastoral visitor, hostess at coffee hour and so much more. She was the first recipient of this award created to honor her long service to this church. It recognizes selfless service to our community. This year the board chose to present this award to Margaret Gorman who signed our membership book on January 22, 1989 and has given generously of her time and talent for 27 years!
In the early 90’s she served on the Religious Education (RE) Committee and became its chair. She currently serves as a member of the Children and Youth RE Committee and its Helping Hands subcommittee. She has served as a Sunday School teacher, Youth Programs Committee member, chaperone on Coming of Age end of year trips, curriculum editor/author, special project and event coordinator, long time RE Committee member, costume designer, closet cleaner, TJMC t-shirt generator, Appalachian Service Project originators, and so much more! Yet her work for TJMC goes beyond her participation in RE. She sells SCRIP, helps with altar decorations and has been integrally involved with our Partner Churches in India and Transylvania including providing the leadership for the annual fundraising/education event about our Partner Churches sponsored by 10,000 Villages. She has also hosted circle dinners, provided pastoral care and been part of CareNet. Her dedication is incredible and her commitment is awe-inspiring.
Her vision and leadership led her to design and create a meaningful way for our children to help provide full-day meal packets for an almost invisible population in desperate need, the families of children hospitalized far from home. Our children responded to this idea with joy at being able to do something “real” to help. The children have shared that Sundays spent making meal packets are some of their favorite days at church. She also arranged for our congregation’s teenagers to become involved in the project and then figured out how to involve other organizations in the area. The meal packet effort has become embedded in our congregation’s consciousness.
And at this time we should also acknowledge how much we owe to the past winners of this award: Connie Cheetham, Ed Jones, Bonnie Sheppard and Bill Spurgin, Carolyn Silver, Al Reynolds, Edith Good, Waverly Parker, Christa Pierpont, Dell and Tony Smith, Kay and Sandy Peaslee, Phyllis and Gordon McKeeman, Stephanie Lowenhaupt, Margaret Jones, Ruth Nelson, Elizabeth Breeden, Trudy Rohm, Dick and Greta Dershimer, Sally Taylor, Virginia James, Shirley Paul, Pam McIntire and Pam Philips.