2011 OUTSTANDING PUBLIC BROADCASTING VOLUNTEER AWARD
Donna Dickinson
Nominated by Douglas Price, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain PBS (Colorado)
Donna Dickinson was described by her nominator as “Donna Reed in hip boots and pearls” and by others at her station as “an aspen tree: last to burn and the first to return on the mountainside following natural disasters.” He further describes her as a remarkable woman who has brought the quiet tenacity of the aspen tree to her work at RMPBS for some 24 years and for over 12,600 hours.
There is not a part of the station or volunteer activity that Ms Dickinson has not touched. She has been a gracious and enthusiastic worker bee, always pitching in wherever she is needed. Her greatest impact, though, has been as a volunteer leader. She finds new ways to impact and improve RMPBS with her results-oriented approach. Her leadership style honors all those volunteers and staff with whom she works. As with most effective leaders, she has a talent for navigating controversy and resolving conflict, and she does not shy away from asking the hard questions. She has become an articulate advocate for her projects and for RMPBS.
Ms Dickinson has lent her talents to special events, fund raising, educational initiatives, production, membership, and station governing boards. She volunteers for an activity, and within a couple of years, she would be chairing the entire project!
For many years, Ms Dickinson was heavily involved in the KRMA/RMPBS annual auction, from script writing to solicitation, warehouse work to big board tasks. She was ever-present and worked countless hours to make the auction a success, including serving as chair of the Auction Big Board.
Since 2007 she has served as the chair of the Station’s Archived Memories (SAM) Committee, managing and leading 51 volunteers and overseeing nine subcommittees. For the first seven years of SAM’s existence, she served as the Photo Chair, and helped to author the SAM Toolkit that was distributed nationally to PBS stations. At the 2003 PBS Development Conference, she made a presentation on creating and maintaining photo files.
Ms Dickinson has been honored with the top RMPBS volunteer awards: the Summit Award for volunteer work totaling ten thousand hours, and the Diane Papedo Award for outstanding leadership, effectiveness, and unselfish service. She has touched countless lives and has set a standard of excellence for volunteers and staff.
She is no stranger to the National Friends of Public Broadcasting either, as she has served as an NFPB Trustee lending her skills to shaping NFPB’s vision of service.
Donna Dickinson
Nominated by Douglas Price, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain PBS (Colorado)
Donna Dickinson was described by her nominator as “Donna Reed in hip boots and pearls” and by others at her station as “an aspen tree: last to burn and the first to return on the mountainside following natural disasters.” He further describes her as a remarkable woman who has brought the quiet tenacity of the aspen tree to her work at RMPBS for some 24 years and for over 12,600 hours.
There is not a part of the station or volunteer activity that Ms Dickinson has not touched. She has been a gracious and enthusiastic worker bee, always pitching in wherever she is needed. Her greatest impact, though, has been as a volunteer leader. She finds new ways to impact and improve RMPBS with her results-oriented approach. Her leadership style honors all those volunteers and staff with whom she works. As with most effective leaders, she has a talent for navigating controversy and resolving conflict, and she does not shy away from asking the hard questions. She has become an articulate advocate for her projects and for RMPBS.
Ms Dickinson has lent her talents to special events, fund raising, educational initiatives, production, membership, and station governing boards. She volunteers for an activity, and within a couple of years, she would be chairing the entire project!
For many years, Ms Dickinson was heavily involved in the KRMA/RMPBS annual auction, from script writing to solicitation, warehouse work to big board tasks. She was ever-present and worked countless hours to make the auction a success, including serving as chair of the Auction Big Board.
Since 2007 she has served as the chair of the Station’s Archived Memories (SAM) Committee, managing and leading 51 volunteers and overseeing nine subcommittees. For the first seven years of SAM’s existence, she served as the Photo Chair, and helped to author the SAM Toolkit that was distributed nationally to PBS stations. At the 2003 PBS Development Conference, she made a presentation on creating and maintaining photo files.
Ms Dickinson has been honored with the top RMPBS volunteer awards: the Summit Award for volunteer work totaling ten thousand hours, and the Diane Papedo Award for outstanding leadership, effectiveness, and unselfish service. She has touched countless lives and has set a standard of excellence for volunteers and staff.
She is no stranger to the National Friends of Public Broadcasting either, as she has served as an NFPB Trustee lending her skills to shaping NFPB’s vision of service.