Altrusan of the Year and Super Star Awards bestowed as the Downtown Dallas Service Club Wraps up a Successful Year
Amy Gavigan was honored by being named the “Altrusan of the Year” for the Altrusa International Club of Downtown Dallas for 2016-2017.
At an evening awards and installation banquet held at the Lakewood Country Club on Tuesday, May 16, Gavigan, the outgoing recording secretary for the service club for the past two years, was surprised by the honor.
Voted by her club members as the outstanding member for her diligent work within the service club--keeping the minutes of the twice-monthly general meetings and monthly Board meetings--and her many hours of community service performed throughout Dallas. Gavigan achieved over 100 hours of volunteer service in the past 12 months in addition to her full-time job.
Gavigan only joined the Altrusa club three years ago, in May of 2014. Her first term as recording secretary began June 2015 and she was re-elected in 2016 for a second term. Board members typically serve one term. Business men and women from a variety of neighborhoods in and around downtown Dallas join the club to work together to perform service benefitting women and children in crisis and promote literacy. Altrusa of Downtown Dallas is one of the largest clubs in the International service organization, reaching over 80 active members last year.
Gavigan has worked for U.S. Trust Bank of America, in downtown Dallas, for 17 years, where she currently is a Trust Administrative Officer. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and earned an MBA at Texas Woman’s University.
An avid knitter, Gavigan has submitted entries in the annual State Fair of Texas Creative Arts competition, where she has won honorable mention, third place and second place ribbons over the past several years. She also enjoys traveling, cooking, reading, fishing, and watching Texas Aggie Football.
Her favorite service project with Altrusa was delivering Thanksgiving meals for Shared Housing with her mother, Elizabeth Gavigan, of California. Altrusa members bring the turkeys and all the trimmings to Shared Housing members throughout the downtown Dallas area who typically have low incomes and live together to share expenses.
In addition, Gavigan was the first in the club to complete and turn in her 100 hours of service this year, a challenge set out for all Altrusa Club members to do for this year’s 100th anniversary. Some of her service included:
- · T-shirt Sales for Bar None held on the SMU campus, which raises scholarship money for minority law students in Texas
- · sorting coats and donating to the drive to benefit children who don't have a coat for “Make a difference Day”
- · Shared Housing – Thanksgiving Basket Delivery to lower-income residents near downtown Dallas
- · Shopping for Christmas gifts for families of the Human Rights Initiative
- · Working both the Raffle Table and Giving Tree at “Dessert First” the club's fund raiser, which provides funds for multiple non-profit agencies
Gavigan was also honored in Waco last month at the Altrusa state-wide conference as her club’s 2017 District Nine All Star Award recipient, and she has two consecutive years of Perfect Attendance at all-club meetings 2016-2017 and 2015-2016.
She attended the 2016 District Nine Fall Leadership Conference and is excited to be a 2017 International Convention Delegate to be held in Nashville in July.
Gavigan says she’s looking forward to being “part of the crowd” sitting among the members of the club at meetings, rather than at the head table where she’s been keeping copious notes for the past two years.
Altrusa is a service organization for civic-minded people who strive to create better communities worldwide. The club’s focus is helping women and children in the Dallas metroplex through service projects to fulfill the mission of “Educating Families for a Better Future.” The club is affiliated with Altrusa International, Inc. an international organization with over 300 clubs worldwide with a strong history of literacy education.
The Downtown Dallas Club was found in 1982, and currently has over 70 members. Meetings are held once a month in the City Club in the Bank of America Building downtown, and a new monthly evening meeting is planned monthly for this 2017-2018 year. Recent recipients of service and donations include Youth Believing in Change, Vickery Meadow Learning Center, Meals on Wheels, Bar None, Irma Rangel Leadership School for Girls, Attitudes and Attire and Juliette Fowler Communities' Ebby House.
For more information see: www.altrusadtd.com or the club's Facebook page, Altrusa International of Downtown Dallas.
Or contact membership chair Christina Coultas: christina.coultas@gmail.com