By Matthew Jones

The Chautauqua Region Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Susan C. Carlson, founder of You Are Not Alone Anymore, Inc. (YANAA), has been selected as the winner of the 1998 Axel W. Carlson Award.  The award will be presented at a reception at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute on 311 Curtis Street, Jamestown, on Thursday, June 11, 1998, at 4:00 p.m.

The Axel W. Carlson Award is an acknowledgment and celebration of one person in our community with the reputation of quietly working behind the scenes to further a cause or help an organization.  They are also known for giving of their time and resources without thought of public recognition.  This person is truly an unsung hero in our community.

Mrs. Carlson is being recognized for her work with YANAA, an organization dedicated to providing supportive living residences to individuals in early recovery from alcoholism.  An integral part of the founding of the first residence, the Birdie Turner Home, the organization has since founded two more, the Les Root Home for men and another home for recovering women and their children.  These residences are self-sufficient, surviving without the aid of governmental grants.

In addition to her work with YANAA, Susan visits other rehabilitation facilities throughout the county to interview and recommend applicants to the YANAA residences.  She currently conducts groups on faith at the First Lutheran Church in Jamestown and has served on the Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council.

In recognition of Mrs. Carlson's dedication, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation will present her with a check for $1,000.

An employee of Jamestown Savings Bank, she is married to Clifford K. Carlson.  They have two daughters, Cynthia Rodgers of Jamestown and Lisa Carlson of Springfield, Massachusetts.

The award, currently in its thirteenth year, is named after Mr. Axel W. Carlson, a Swedish carpenter in Jamestown who was known for his quiet kindness and charity to others less fortunate than himself.  His generosity led to the establishment of a fund here at the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation that bears his name as well as an award to celebrate his ideals.