Volunteers of the Year

At the Rotary Club Fernandina Beach Volunteer breakfast this past Friday, all Nassau County non-profit organizations had an opportunity to announce their Volunteer of the Year. We recognized both Alan Donaldson and Geof McKisson as our recipients of our award.

In addition, the Rotary chose out of all the non-profit recipients, their Nassau County Volunteer of the Year. Alan Donaldson was chosen! This is a significant honor for Alan and for BGCN.

Below are both Alan’s and Geof’s short write-ups.

Alan Donaldson
Volunteer of the Year Award Nominee
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Nassau County Foundation

We recognize our dedicated volunteer of more than a decade, Alan Donaldson. Alan is quoted as saying “you must do something worthwhile in retirement” and so he has. After Alan retired from Union Carbide where he had a 38-year career, he and his wife, Joan moved to Amelia Island. Alan wanted to serve his new community and chose The Boys & Girls Clubs to do just that.

Alan has been our chief writer for all external articles and announcements for the New-Leader, Fernandina Observer, Florida Times Union and Amelia Islander Magazine. His expertise has also been used for our website content and other medium to spread the word about our organization.

We can correctly say that because of Alan’s expertise, dedication and knowledge about our programs and events, his thousands of words and hundreds of articles written have significantly helped to build our brand within the community. Whether it is an article about our Youth of the Month or about a special program or award, Alan’s contribution to our cause has resulted in increased children and teen membership year-over-year. That is the mark of an impactful volunteer who made a difference in the lives of so many members.

Geof McKisson
Volunteer of the Year Award Nominee
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Nassau County Foundation

Geof McKisson has been a dedicated supporter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Nassau County working hands-on with our children.

Geof’s first volunteering experience was tutoring in math to club members at our Fernandina Beach location. The children that were assigned to Geof were struggling with their homework assignments. Geof purchased books and other teaching aids in order to help the kids. The staff truly appreciated his work, creativity and the progress the kids made.

Geof took on an even larger project for our two clubs by expanding a small golf program to something much more impactful. He believes that the game of golf provides a platform to encourage core values. In addition to learning fundamentals of the golf swing and the game, the kids are being introduced to character education and life skills. To get this new program off the ground, Geof recruited and trained twelve volunteers to work with the kids. Lesson plans were created, golf clubs were purchased and donated, schedules put in place, members chosen and negotiations with golf courses to use their facilities were all orchestrated by Geof. We are just starting our second round of lessons and focusing on our teens.

Geof’s creative approach whether math or sports, has made a huge difference in the lives of many of our members.