Author: Celeste Brooks

On July 25, 2024, Warren Coalition members and staff gathered with guests for the Annual Awards Luncheon at the Warren County Community Center. The crowd of 29 people came to celebrate dedicated service by Warren Coalition members and honor the winner of this year’s Larry M. Funk Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County.

In recognition of how busy people are and as a gesture of appreciation for their time, attendance awards are given to members who consistently attended meetings during the past year. Michelle Smeltzer, Samantha Barber, and Matt Buracker all received recognition pins, with Nick Croft receiving a Perfect Attendance pin. In addition, Sam was recognized for her service as treasurer over the past year, and Nick for his service as secretary of the board and overall board service for the past 15+ years.

Nick was also honored as Coalition Member of the Year for 2024 for his many hours of volunteer work with the Coalition, which includes technical support and helping to staff events. Executive Director Christa Shifflett noted during the presentations that for the 2024-25 year, Sam will serve as Vice President and Nick will serve as President.

A special award was given to Dan Lenz, who is retiring from Warren County Parks & Recreation later this year, to honor him for his 16 years of service with the Coalition. Warren Coalition and Warren County Parks & Recreation have been able to collaborate on many projects during his tenure, including Rockland Park’s disc golf course, exercise equipment, and basketball course, the splash pad, several swing sets, and the new pickleball courts, just to name a few. Dan stated that he intends to remain involved in the Coalition, much to everyone’s delight.

Once the awards to the members were completed, it was time to present the award the Larry M. Funk Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County. This award was established by the Warren Coalition in 2022 to recognize an individual whose dedication and service to the children of Warren County have made a positive impact on them. Larry M. Funk was a member of Warren Coalition for more than 20 years, serving in a number of positions to include Vice President and President during that time.  The Warren County Sheriff Department employed Larry for over 28 years, and 27 of those were as the D.A.R.E. instructor and Community Policing representative. 

This year’s award recipient was Michael S. Williams, who was nominated by the Rotary Club of Warren County. The nomination states, “Michael Williams’ passion for mentoring and supporting the youth of Front Royal/Warren County is boundless and tireless.” The nomination observes that five Early Act and Interact Clubs have been formed in Warren County “because of Michael’s passion, energy, and love for children.” Michael is the faculty sponsor for the E. Wilson Morrison Early Act Club, which started in 2019 with just 17 fourth and fifth grade members. The club is now open to students from kindergarten through fifth grade and boasted a membership of 146 students this past year. “This elementary school is a Title 1 school with 90% of the students receiving aid,” the nomination notes. “It is amazing to see these children participating in numerous activities to support their school, the local community, and others in need.”

Michael supports the older children in the Warren County community as well. He has been a leader in organizing Rotary District 7570’s Rotary Youth Leadership Awards weekend held at Virginia Tech each year. Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is a leadership training program for high school students. Michael helps organize the event and is a presenter as well. In addition, he is a chaperone and driver for youth participants from Warren County. Unsurprisingly, due to his tireless dedication, Michael has been named as Rotary District 7570’s Youth Activities Chairperson for the 2024-2025 Rotary year.

Michael doesn’t stop at Rotary. Like Larry, he is involved with the children and youth at his church. He is the Children’s Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Front Royal and the Youth Fellowship Leader for the Church. He is also engaged in the Church’s support of the backpack program at E. Wilson Morrison School, providing food for children, and the Church’s collection of school supplies for the school.

“Michael is a child at heart, his dedication to education for children is more than of any other person I know,” the nomination concludes. “Being involved in the community and also focused on involvement and good practice for the education of our youth. Above all Michael is: Compassionate, uplifting, generous, supportive, personable, selfless, relatable, involved, kind, patient, motivational, fun, energic, respectful, and so much more. He is the light for Warren County Youth!”

FRONT ROYAL, VA— Nominations are now open for the 2024 Larry M. Funk Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to Children in Warren County, VA. This award was established by the Warren Coalition in 2022 to recognize an individual whose dedication and service to the children of Warren County have made a positive impact on them. The recipient, in 2022, was Roger Smelzer. Last year’s recipient was Laura Nelson Haas.

The award is open to anyone who serves children in any way, though if it is their profession, the nominator will need to explain the way in which they go above and beyond their normal job requirements. Nominators are asked to explain the contributions made to the children and youth of Warren County, cite some specific examples, and list five outstanding qualities of the nominee.

Nominations can be made online at https://bit.ly/LarryFunkAward. (Note that the link is case-sensitive.) A panel will review the nomination packages, and the selected recipient will be presented with a plaque and $500 cash at the Warren Coalition’s Annual Membership Luncheon in late July. Nominations are due May 15, 2024.

Larry M. Funk was a member of Warren Coalition for more than 20 years, serving in a number of positions to include Vice President and President during that time.  The Warren County Sheriff Department employed Larry for over 28 years, and 27 of those were as the D.A.R.E. instructor and Community Policing representative.  He received many awards and recognitions from community organizations such as Kiwanis, Elks Lodge, Moose Lodge, Warren County Sheriff Department, Warren County Board of Supervisors, and American Legion Post 53, just to name a few. His many activities included presentations at events and distribution of educational materials for the youth of Warren County. This included many bike rodeos; Warren County Fair booths; Warren Memorial Hospital annual health fair; drug awareness displays; car shows; and car seat safety checks. He coordinated and organized the annual D.A.R.E. day, which was the culmination of a year of planning for the fifth graders of Warren County Public Schools as part of the D.A.R.E education during the school year.

At his church, Larry served as an elder, assistant Sunday school superintendent, and a youth Sunday school teacher. His family recalled that he would practice his presentations for hours until he got it just the way he wanted to present it.  He took great pride working with the children of the community.  Students and former adult students would frequently greet him with hugs whenever they would see him. Larry’s impact was great and long lasting.

Larry was married for 38 years; the proud father of two sons; and grandfather of five grandchildren. He loved spending time with them and especially teaching them. 

Warren Coalition is a nonprofit agency established in 1994 to help fill the gaps in health care and substance abuse awareness to the community. The Coalition began under the guidance of Warren Memorial Hospital as an outreach project, but it has since grown and was incorporated in 2001.  The office is currently located in the Warren County Community Center.  Their mission is to make Warren County a safe, healthy, and drug free community through many programs and in collaboration with 15+ member agencies.

###

It is time for teams to rigorously train for—or at least register for—the second annual Warren County Rocks Scavenger Hunt being held on Sunday, April 28th! This fundraiser for the Warren Coalition sends teams scrambling to solve clues and hunting for five affirmation rocks, while completing hysterically fun challenges along the way to earn points towards the championship title for 2024!

This year, the Scavenger Hunt features two separate divisions: a Family Division, which will start at 1:00 pm, and an Adult Team Division, which will begin at 3:00 pm. A community showcase will be held from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm with refreshments. Hundreds of dollars in prizes will be given away, with awards for the teams that finish the fastest, the ones that score the highest on the challenges, and the overall championship title in each division as well!

What’s the scavenger hunt like, you ask? Well, imagine puzzles of all kinds–a crossword, a cryptogram, a riddle–that you and your teammate(s)/family must solve. They lead you to a location where you search for special affirmation rocks. Once you find one, you then complete a challenge–throwing a pool noodle through a hula hoop, or playing a few rounds of Jenga as fast as you can, for example–which earns you points. When you’re done, you get your next puzzle, and on you go!

It is the type of event where there is something for EVERYONE! And you’ll go home with full bellies, t-shirts, and possibly some awesome prizes!

The event will be held at the Health & Human Services Complex at 465 W 15th St, Front Royal.

The entry fee is $100 per team, with a maximum of four people per Adult Division team and five people per Family Division Team. Each team member will receive a T-shirt. Teams are encouraged to register by April 4^th, but will not need to pay right away. Beginning on April 5^th, teams will receive a website link so they can fundraise online, if desired. While $100 is all that is needed to qualify for the Scavenger Hunt, teams are encouraged to continue raising funds. The team that raises the most money will receive a prize and earn additional points towards the overall championship title! Will Rocking for the Weekend maintain their title for the second year, or will another team knock them off the championship boulder this year?

Registrations will be accepted through April 15th.

To participate in the Scavenger Hunt, gather your team and register online at warrencoalition.org/wcrsh

Thank you to our sponsors: Berry Media Graphics, Skyline Insurance Agency, Lindsay Chevrolet, Play Favorites, and Melting Pot Pizza!