By Marnie McAlister, Record Assistant Editor
The Louisville Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) honored three of its most dedicated volunteers and welcomed 46 new members during a ceremony at St. Michael Church in late February.
Bob Hagan received the Top Hat Award, the highest award given by the society’s Conference Affairs Committee.
Hagan was honored for “exemplifying the spirit of our founder, Frederic Ozanam,” according to a March 11 announcement from the society. “He is always concerned about the needs of clients and provides them not only with their immediate needs but supports them and is instrumental in providing them with valuable information that will help them in the future.”
President of St. Peter the Apostle Church’s SVDP Conference, Hagan visits people in need, delivering furniture or food; volunteers regularly at the SVDP campus downtown and supports new volunteers.
Hagan also serves as district president of the SVDP Council of Louisville Board of Directors.
Beverly Richards, who joined the SVDP in 2004, received the society’s 2013 Ozanam Medallion because she “serves as a role model for other Vincentians and is also an inspiration to the broader faith community,” the release said. She’s “known for her kindness and ability to make people feel good even in bad situations.”
Richards belongs to the St. Paul Church SVDP Conference and serves as its secretary. She visits clients, organizes food baskets, does paperwork for the conference and recruits new members.
Leo Fogle of the St. Raphael Church SVDP Conference, received the St. Vincent Award for dedicating “his life to supplying nonjudgmental and supportive service to those in need,” the announcement said.
At age 92, Fogle makes 15 to 20 home visits each month and has done so since the mid 1990s. He also finds and distributes funds to those who need temporary assistance, sometimes meeting the need from his own pockets of “modest means,” the announcement noted.
“The time he spends advocating for his clients and the clients from other conferences is simply staggering. … He often makes 10 to 15 calls per client, multiplied by 15 to 20 clients per month,” the announcement said. “He is non-judgmental and sympathetic with the plight of the poor, unemployed, addicted, abused, and mentally ill and clients going through challenging circumstances.
Fogle has been an SVDP member for 25 years and seems never to be “too old or tired to help someone in need,” the announcement added.
In addition to presenting the volunteer awards, the society welcomed 46 new members to its parish conferences. Parishes in the Archdiocese of Louisville and Southern Indiana with new members are:
Holy Spirit Church — Mary Jo Horlander, Deborah Lopez-Thorpe and Jennifer Sanders.
Holy Trinity Church — Eugene Mosely.
St. Agnes Church — Lauren Pieper, Stephanie Reilly and Steve Riester.
St. James Church, Elizabethtown, Ky. — Linda Brown, Regina Cheek, Chuck Hinton, Nelia Rausch, Carol Johnson, John McKeating, Bob Rausch, Ann
Redding, Mary J. Reinach, Gery Skees, Martina Spalding, Jacinta Tillett and Lorna Vertrees.
St. Michael Church — Joni Lamb, Cathy O’Brien, Pam Bates, Deacon Ken Carter, Paul Garcia, Robin Garcia, Nancy Hoover, John and Charlene Kelly, Corrine Knepp, Mike Lamb, Therese McClelland and Jim Moss.
St. Patrick Church — Ken Hoffmann and Bob and Laurie Tancula.
St. Paul Church — Mary and Dickie Deats, Debra Griswald and Teresa Pacheco.
St. Stephen Martyr Church — Thomas Koenig and Edward LePera.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, New Albany, Ind. — Donald Ferry, Patty Hendricks and Gwen Pyle.
St. Anthony of Padua Church, Clarksville, Ind. — Mike and Robin Basham and Mike and Becky Wheeler.
