Civic to start service awards program
The North Fort Myers Civic Association is about serving the community, and now it wants to recognize people who dedicate themselves to making this area a better place to live.
At its monthly meeting last week at the Chamber of Commerce office at the Shell Factory, the NFMCA board voted unanimously to develop the North Fort Myers Community Service Award Program to recognize those who do outstanding work in the community.
The program will recognize individuals and businesses who go above and beyond to promote the best of what the area has to offer.
Civic Association president Doug Dailey proposed giving out four awards, with an awards banquet to take place at the end of January at Tommy’s Tiki Bar at the Shell Factory.
The awards would be:
• The Tommy Cronin Community Service Award, named in memory of Tom Cronin, owner of the Shell Factory.
• The Diamond Award, which will honor women of distinction in North Fort Myers and named after Cheryl Diamond, the only female president in the 20-year history of the NFMCA.
• The North Fort Myers Community Service Medal, to honor a special achievement by a resident or group that has helped the community.
• The North Fort Myers Pioneer Award, to honor a person who was influential to North Fort Myers before 2000, prior to the inception of the NFMCA.
The board voted to seed the program $500 to get things started. From there, Dailey would seek to find sponsors for the event to further defray costs.
Lee County Insurance has already pledged a sponsorship, with others expected to follow.
The nomination process for the Tom Cronin Award would occur between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. Once the number of finalists is reduced to five, Pam Cronin will select the winner, with the two other finalists invited to the banquet.
The other awards will be selected by the sitting members of a new board.
In other business, the civic association also voted to increase the annual dues for membership, saying they haven’t changed since the group’s inception.
An individual membership will be $20, a family membership (husband and wife) is $30, a community group is $40 and a business is $50.
Also, the civic association is looking for a new treasurer. Kim Tester told the group that because of heath and COVID concerns, she will not be able to continue her duties.
The group did not name a new treasurer.
The group also set the date for the third-annual Wiffle Ball Bash for Saturday, March 6. The event has quickly become the biggest fund raiser for the NFMCA.