By Matthew Jones

The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, currently celebrating its 25th anniversary of enriching the quality of life in the Chautauqua Region, held a celebration dinner in honor of the occasion in conjunction with the 2003 John D. Hamilton Community Service Award ceremony at the Athenaeum Hotel at the Chautauqua Institution on Thursday, September 11th.

Receiving this year's Community Service Award were eleven individuals who were either members of the task force that investigated the formation of the Community Foundation, or those who served on the Foundation's first board of directors. Those men and women are:
Carl M. Cappa, Barbara S. Carlson, Francis B. Grow, John D. Hamilton, Miles L. Lasser, Elizabeth S. Lenna, Marion A. Panzarella, Richard W. Parker, Samuel P. Price Sr.,
John L. Sellstrom and Kenneth W. Strickler.

The John D. Hamilton Community Service Award is an annual recognition of dedication, leadership and support in furthering community spirit and enhancing the quality of life in the Chautauqua Region.

According to Randy Sweeney, the Community Foundation's Executive Director, "With the Foundation celebrating its 25th anniversary, the selection committee felt it appropriate to honor those whose hard work paved the way for our success. In the beginning, John D. Hamilton convinced these individuals that a community foundation was an organization worth having, and they in turn spent long hours reviewing the community foundation concept - which was still rather new in 1978 - crafting policies, and pursuing donations to make sure that the new organization had the best footing possible."

The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation's Community Service Award was first presented to John D. Hamilton in 1993. It was renamed the John D. Hamilton Community Service Award in 1994 in recognition of his high level of dedication to the community, which serves to this day as a benchmark for all to strive.