Brecksville Names Senior Volunteers of the Year

After 41 years of honoring volunteers, it’s sort of a tradition in Brecksville.

This year’s recipients perfectly fit the mold. 

Margaret DeWolf and Tom Nero will be honored as Brecksville's Senior Volunteers of the year.

They will be honored at a special ceremony at the Brecksville Human Services Center at noon May 14.

Tickets, at $15, are now on sale.

Brecksville Mayor Jerry N. Hruby will present citations to the honorees and the Kiwanis Club will present special gifts.

DeWolf and Nero have considerable resumes as volunteers in Brecksville.

Dr. Thomas A. Nero, Ph.D., a lifelong Brecksville resident, “has distinguished himself as an entrepreneur, a master woodcarver and has devoted himself to the service of others.”

Nero’s signature project for 25 years has been the annual Christian Appalachian Drive through St. Basil the Great Roman Catholic Church in Brecksville. Truckloads of supplies, furniture and household goods roll down I-71 to a church in Louisa, Kentucky for distribution.

Nero has also offered up services for the Lymphoma Society, Ohio Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, charter member of the Brecksville Jaycees, Hattie Larlham Foundation, Brecksville Historical Association, Brecksville Bicentennial Committee, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Knights of Columbus, Founder and Director of St. Basil’s first Boy Scout Troop, charity auctioneer raising tens of thousands of dollars. His talent as a woodcarver is unparalleled. In addition to a zoo full of animals he carved commemoration plaques for St. Basil’s 50th anniversary and Brecksville’s Bicentennial.

Get all that?

Here’s the scoop on DeWolf. 

According to the city’s resolution honoring her, Margaret A. DeWolf, has abundantly given of herself to our community as a volunteer and community leader. “The word ‘no’ is not in her vocabulary when it comes to the myriad organizations that have benefitted from her many talents.”

“Her devotion to her faith centers at St. Basil the Great Catholic Church where she is a Eucharistic Minister providing Communion service to fellow parishioners. As an Extraordinary Minister she offers prayer service and Communion to assisted living residents in the area and she is a volunteer on the Worship Committee and Gift of the Spirit. In addition to St. Basil she has been a member of the St. Francis Mission Society for 47 years, doing fund raising for children, students and disadvantaged families.”

 DeWolf was also a leader in the year of pre-planning and then executing the Bicentennial activities along side her husband, Frank, who was co-chair, and one of last year’s honorees. She volunteered at more than — count ‘em —  45 events and projects.