Dentist, student named volunteers of the year

A local dentist and a senior at Free State High School were honored Thursday as winners of the 2004 Wallace Galluzzi Volunteer of the Year Awards.

The winners, announced at the annual meeting of United Way of Douglas County, were Ed Manda, a volunteer with the Douglas County Dental Clinic, and Yuan Liu, a volunteer with the Partnership for Children and Youth.

The annual awards are named for Galluzzi, a former president of Haskell Indian Nations University.

Manda, the adult award winner, was a founding member of the Dental Clinic, its first president and the first dentist to see patients for the clinic. He now serves as the board’s secretary.

Manda was out of town Thursday. His award was accepted by Jason Wesco, the clinic’s director.

“I really do believe — and this isn’t an understatement — that the clinic wouldn’t be here now without Dr. Manda,” Wesco said.

Liu, the youth award winner, has volunteered for the Partnership for Children and Youth since she moved to Lawrence three years ago. She has served as an office intern, worked with the agency’s literacy campaign and holds the board of director’s youth seat.

She said she was looking for a way to connect to people when she first moved to Lawrence during her sophomore year at Free State.

“I was in that teenage angst mode,” she said. “I was so unhappy.”

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When the Roger Hill Volunteer Center matched her with the Partnership for Children and Youth, she said it struck a chord.

“I love it,” she said. “It’s so much different than going to school every day. It’s such a break. I’ve met a lot of nice people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.”

Twenty-one adults and four youths were named Wallace Galluzzi 2004 Outstanding Volunteer Award nominees by the United Way of Douglas County. They were honored during the United Way annual meeting Thursday.Adult honoreesJanney Burgess, Hospice CareLenora Crumet, Douglas County Visiting Nurses Assn.Barbara Curry, Small WorldSally Davis, Spencer Museum of ArtMichael Garland, Hospice CareJudy Hollingshead, Breast Cancer ActionThelma Holloway, Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department Babcock ScreeningsCarolyn Johnson, Douglas County CASACarol Leffler, Bert Nash Compeer ProgramEd Manda, Douglas County Dental ClinicAnnette McDonald, American Red CrossRita Mika, St. John’s Rummage HouseConnie Neuenswander, Habitat for HumanityBrad and Carla Phipps, Health Care AccessPatty Rundquist, Watkins Community Museum of HistorySondra Spooner, First Step HouseJane Tedder, Kansas Audio Reader NetworkBetty Visser, Douglas County Senior ServicesLeann Williams, Therapeutic Horseback Riding Instruction LawrenceLen J. Wright, Doulgas County AIDS ProjectYouth honoreesKate Falkenstien, communitywide volunteeringTiffany Kwak, Lawrence Public LibraryYuan Liu, Partnership for Children and YouthCrystal Snyder, Lawrence Memorial Hospital