At a glance
Members of the Alfred State College, Alfred University, and Alfred village community came together virtually for the 10th annual Celebration of Service Ceremony to honor recipients of the Spirit of Service Award.
Members of the Alfred State College, Alfred University, and Alfred village community came together virtually for the 10th annual Celebration of Service Ceremony to honor recipients of the Spirit of Service Award. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, nominees and awardees were recognized through a video presentation.
Each year, Alfred community members, as well as students, faculty, and staff of both Alfred State College and Alfred University are nominated by their colleagues, students, and community members for the award, which recognizes their service to others. Recipients receive the award for exemplifying principles that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated for, including commitment to equality, service, social justice, and community.
AE Crandall Hook & Ladder Company Ambulance Service members and Tony Graziano and the Alfred Pharmacy staff were joint recipients of the 2021 Alfred Community Spirit of Service Award. Paul Weaver, a past nominee for his service in AE Crandall Hook & Ladder, coordinated the key stakeholders for the Alfred community to communicate and plan ways of supporting all who live, work, and study in Alfred through the pandemic. Jane Cochran, a volunteer of AE Crandall for over 15 years, serves as an active member of St. Jude’s Church, mentors college students through the fire department and the church, and is active in numerous outreach programs.
Graziano worked quickly in late 2020 to make arrangements for vaccines to be available for local community members. He and his staff have worked seven days a week and very long hours to ensure that local Alfred community members are vaccinated against the virus.
The 2021 Alfred State Faculty/Staff Spirit of Service Award recipient was Dr. Gregory Sammons, vice president for Student Affairs. Sammons has been the driving force behind the college’s COVID task forces. He has also made it a priority to educate and drive change within the Student Affairs division and the college in areas related to race and civil unrest in the country.
Receiving the 2021 Alfred State Student Spirit of Service Award was Trey Moore. Upon joining the Alfred State community, Moore immediately got involved in Residential Life, Student Senate, and Student Engagement. He is passionate about social justice, Title IX-related issues and making people in his community not only feel welcome, but like they belong.
The 2021 Alfred University Faculty/Staff Spirit of Service Award was presented to Zhongbei “Daisy” Wu. A visiting professor of music and the director of the Confucius Institute at Alfred University, Wu coordinated a community effort at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to send support and aid to those working in hospitals in Wuhan at the time. She also led the “Masks to Help Alfred” program to provide more than 5,000 free masks to AU and surrounding communities. Also nominated were Krishna Amin, Dan Napolitano, Michele Hluchy, and Sandra Singer.
Mark Ciccarella and Janu Patel received the 2021 Alfred University Student Spirit of Service Award. Ciccarella took on a leadership role in the AU Honors Program by leading the Servitors, a group dedicated to university and community service, and also volunteered in AU’s Big Sibling program to mentor incoming first-year students. Patel was heavily involved with the Black Lives Matter movement in the Alfred community, and also led “Operation Christmas Child,” which involved assembling boxes containing toys, gloves, hats and more for children.