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!”