By Debra Utterback

Published: Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 9:00 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, March 20, 2013

At this time each year, we have to make the difficult decision about who should be named as the Sewickley Herald's Man, Woman and Citizen of the Year.

Since there are so many deserving people in the community, it is hard to whittle down the list of nominees.

Each person nominated by family, friends, co-workers and others contributes to the Sewickley area.

This year, Doug Florey has been selected as Man of the Year, Maria Swanson has been picked as Woman of the Year and Gary Chace is the Citizen of the Year. We applaud them and will celebrate their efforts at the Sewickley Herald's annual honors dinner on April 19 at the Edgeworth Club.

There are so many people who should be recognized for their efforts to help others and make the Sewickley area a great place to live and work.

They are the volunteer firefighters, the church workers who help with the annual fish frys, the homeroom mothers and fathers who assist in the schools and the parents involved in the booster clubs that support student athletes.

They are the Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders, the Sewickley Public Library and Sewickley Valley YMCA volunteers and the individuals who help to shovel a neighbor's yard in the winter or cook meals for ill friends.

Each deserves congratulations.

And then there are those individuals who spend hours on borough councils, commissions and school boards. The sacrifices they make and time spent at meetings and events should be applauded, as well.

Friends and family have been eager to share praises. When we invited readers to send in nominations, we heard from spouses of people nominated. We heard from fellow church members. We heard from neighbors. Time and again, they pointed out how the person they suggested for the awards gave of themselves so freely without wanting anything in return.

We salute those people and hope to recognize many of them at future Sewickley Herald honors dinners.

So, join us at the event next month to celebrate volunteerism and the great hearts that some of our neighbors have for the community.

Debra Utterback is an editor for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 412-324-1406 or dutterback@tribweb.com.

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