MARK WAITE / PVT Ginny Berquist makes the announcement, at left, as the Rev. Missy Burns, at right, picks up the United Way of Pioneer Territory Golden Heart for Community Service award during the annual Cheers for Volunteers banquet at the Saddle West Hotel and Casino Friday night. Looking on is Dan Rodriguez and the presenter of the award, last year's recipient B.J. Hetrick-Irwin. MARK WAITE / PVT Pahrump residents given special recognition at the United Way Cheers for Volunteers annual banquet at the Saddle West Hotel and Casino Friday night included Kyler Escalera, Mitzi Sears, Dan and Debbie Mallwitz, Cathy Girard, Yong Kim-Escalera and Myra Tierney. Advertisement

The Rev. Missy Burns was awarded the Golden Heart Community Service Award for her work with No To Abuse, during the Ninth Annual United Way of Pioneer Territory Cheers For Volunteers dinner at the Saddle West Hotel and Casino Friday night.

The Nye Communities Coalition Youth Organization received the student award, while the Nathan Adelson Hospice volunteer group received the commendable group award.

Twenty-nine candidates were nominated for awards. A handful took seats on the stage in a special recognition ceremony.

Rev. Burns began volunteering for No To Abuse in May 2004. She wanted to become more involved and took crisis line training.

"As a trained volunteer Missy took crisis calls for 18 months. She provided peer counseling, screening for shelters, performed crisis intervention services and provided referrals. These calls would come in during all hours of the day or night and weekends and Missy would be there providing caring support and information for victims in crisis," said Ginny Berquist, co-chairwoman of the United Way board.

The Rev. Burns led the No To Abuse women's group in the summer of 2006 and served on the board of the Nevada Outreach Training Organization, a team that guides No To Abuse, Berquist said. The Rev. Burns also helped form the Interfaith Domestic Violence Task Force.

Rev. Burns authored a book and DVD on religious responses to domestic violence, which has been translated into Spanish and distributed as far away as Peru.

"All too often religion is used as a tool to keep the victims in the home. Missy aptly showed that Christianity does not condone domestic violence. Missy's dedication to helping victims of domestic violence is an inspiration to all of us at No To Abuse," Berquist said, reading the nomination letter.

The Nye Community Coalition Youth Organization has a mission to promote involvement in healthy youth activities. They are students at Pahrump Valley High School, Rosemary Clarke Middle School, New Hope Academy and the Pathway program.

Youth Organization members have packaged commodities for the Pahrump Family Resource Center; were active on Kick Butt Day, an anti-smoking crusade; waited on tables during Stand For Children Day, which honors the teacher of the year; participated in Red Ribbon Week; worked the bucking bronco at the Pahrump Fall Festival to raise funds for the boys and girls club; participated in Project Awareness to raise awareness about drug and alcohol abuse during prom and graduation season; and helped clean up the town during Earth Day.

Berquist recalled the youth organization's participation in the kindergarten roundup.

"YO members dressed as Wizard of Oz members and escorted small children to the immunization clinic and entertained children with face painting and movies while the parents completed kindergarten registration forms and we were able to do it at the community center so parents only had to go to one place."

Nathan Adelson Hospice volunteers dedicate hundreds of hours each year. Volunteers help out at the office with mailing and filing. Patient volunteers may sit with a patient allowing caregiverstime to run errands. A nursing home team visits Evergreen at Pahrump Skilled Nursing Center one to three times per week, visiting patients.

"The volunteers add that extra ray of sunshine to the days in the lives of both the patients and their family members," United Way Co-Chairwoman Claudia Knight said.

Nominees who received special recognition included:

Yong Kim-Escalera, a native of Korea, who participated in fund-raising projects for the Disabled American Veterans Women's Auxiliary volunteers at the VA medical clinic each week serving coffee and donuts; buys food for veterans at her own expense; has worked with foreign-born relatives of local veterans and drove them to Las Vegas for appointments.

Cathy Girard, who took over as Nye County School District volunteer coordinator in the spring of 2005, organizing volunteers who donated thousands of hours of work helping out the school nurse, librarians and office workers. The school district received the MAGNA Award by the National Association of School Boards several years ago for its volunteer program. Girard continues to work with the program though she now has a full-time information technology position in Las Vegas.

Dan and Debbie Mallwitz, who have portrayed Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus for the last four years. "They give tirelessly to all organizations wishing to have them appear as those jolly characters. This includes visiting many children who are unable to leave their home," Knight said.

Mitzi Sears, an employee at the Nevada Test Site, who has steered valuable donations to local schools by test site contractors Bechtel Nevada and National Security Technologies Inc. That includes a $20,000 donation to Rosemary Clarke Middle School science labs, $8,000 to Pahrump Valley High School for new band uniforms and $8,000 to Beatty High School for new band instruments and baseball uniforms. She also put in hundreds of hours at various community events as Ms. Senior Golden Years 2004.

Kyler Escalera represented exemplary devotion while assisting disabled and homeless veterans statewide. He volunteers time serving coffee and donuts at the VA clinic in Pahrump weekly. On Veterans Day he traveled rural Nevada to visit homeless veterans and their families, donating funds out of his own pocket. He delivered care packages donated by veterans to The Salvation Army and visited sick and disabled veterans at Nellis Air Force Base Hospital. Escalera also transported veterans to appointments and helped them repair their homes.

Myra Tierney, has been active in the National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees and the Order of the Eastern Star. Tierney put records of the Order of the Eastern Star on the computer as the organization secretary. She wrote memorials for deceased members and drove the elderly into appointments in Las Vegas. Tierney has also been a volunteer at the Pahrump Museum where she organized the membership roster.