Each year, the BEACON Senior Newspaper honors the dedicated men and women of the Grand Valley who volunteer to make our world a better place. Our readers nominate individuals who contribute their time, skills and special talents to our community. All of these volunteers go beyond the call of duty and perform outstanding acts of service. We are grateful for every one of them.

In addition to recognizing these volunteers, we ask our readers to cast their votes for the BEACON Volunteer of the Year, an award that honors an individual who sets the standard for community service. This year, our readers chose Nancy Schmidt, a founding member of Zippity Do Dogs Agility Club and volunteer extraordinaire for many other organizations across the Grand Valley. For the love of dogs Schmidt was nominated for the award by Cathy Barkley, a fellow member of Zippity Do Dogs, a sports club that hosts agility trials across the valley. “She does so much for our group,” Barkley wrote in her nomination. “She always goes above and beyond in loading and driving equipment for trials, mowing the lawn, meeting with local venues, providing refreshments, etc.”

Schmidt’s 20-year tenure with the club makes her one of its oldest members.

In addition to being a selfless role model for her fellow agility dog handlers, Schmidt also volunteers at a Gray Gourmet dining site at Ratekin Towers every Thursday. She takes her dogs Koda and Sage there and to the Center at Foresight and Larchwood Inns once a month, where they entertain residents by doing demos and tricks. “She combines her love of dogs with community volunteering, as she provides dog demonstrations for Gray Gourmet luncheons and local rehab facilities,” Barkley added. Schmidt also volunteers in the bookstore at Fellowship Church twice a month, and helps with their Angel Tree program.

She and her dogs became involved with Zippity Do Dogs before she retired from her teaching job of 32 years at Appleton Elementary.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of time then to do much volunteering, but when I retired in 2006, I had some time and I thought I’d do something to help others,” said Schmidt. Schmidt has made many friends as a result of her volunteer work. Some of her best friends she’s made through her work with the agility club, but she’s also built quite the community from the people she sees at the dining site.

“I like to work with people and I enjoy the rapport,” she said. “I’ve worked the longest with the diners at Ratekin, and they’re pretty close to my heart.”

A day or two before the voting ended for Volunteer of the Year, the BEACON received a box full of votes for Nancy from Gray Gourmet. The staff and volunteers had been collecting votes for months. “I didn’t realize how many people would vote for me,” she said. Volunteering feels good Schmidt was surprised when she found out she’d been nominated for Volunteer of the Year.

“There are a lot of people who volunteer,” she said. “I’m not sure I deserve it, but it was such an honor to be selected.”

Above all, Schmidt was happy to share the spotlight with other nominated volunteers. “I was honored to be up there with everyone else who was nominated,” she said. “I kind of accepted the honor for everyone that volunteers because there’s many people out there that are unsung heroes that volunteer and don’t get any mention. I kind of felt like that award was for all of us.”

She wanted to thank all of the volunteers who take their time to volunteer and help others.

“And thank you to the BEACON for recognizing them and keeping seniors involved,” she said.

“She always says she doesn’t do that much, but that’s far from the truth,” Barkley wrote in her nomination. “She makes our valley a better place through her volunteer work.”