The Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative is pleased to announce it is seeking nominations for the 2013 Juanita Haugen Community of Character Award. This award was established in 2008 to recognize Pleasanton citizens who are dedicated volunteers and consistently model high ethical and moral standards of behavior advocated by the Collaborative.

Candidates should exhibit traits chosen by the Citizens of Pleasanton: Responsibility, Compassion, Self-Discipline, Honesty, Respect and Integrity.

The award is named in honor of a longtime Pleasanton Unified School District Board Member and community volunteer, Juanita Haugen. Haugen, co-founder of the Pleasanton Community of Character program, believed that part of Pleasanton’s success is due to its compassionate citizens and those people who volunteer throughout our community. Her vision was to remind people to model ethical standards of behavior within their communities, businesses, home’s and to extend these traits outside our community as they travel and meet other people throughout the world.

Anyone wishing to nominate an individual or a non-profit group demonstrating a commitment to our Community of Character traits through their volunteer work may download a form at www.communityofcharacter.org and mail it to our Community of Character P.O. Box 21 Pleasanton, CA 94566. Nominees must be Pleasanton residents, demonstrate a commitment to quality volunteer work in the community and exhibit volunteerism above and beyond their day to day job responsibilities while exhibiting the community established character traits.

The deadline for submission is April 19, 2013. Nomination forms are also available at the Pleasanton School District office, 4665 Bernal Avenue; The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce office, 777 Peters Avenue; The Pleasanton Library, 400 Old Bernal; or The Civic Center, 200 Old Bernal.

This year’s Juanita Haugen Community of Character Award recipients will be honored at the May 16, 2013 Community of Character Collaborative Luncheon at the Pleasanton Veterans Memorial Building. The reservation form will be available online in April and at the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce, Pleasanton Library, Civic Center and the Pleasanton Senior Center.

Past award recipients are Janet Liang (2012), Debra Mitchell (2012), Dave Melander (2012), Pleasanton Military Families (2012), Chuck Deckert (2011), Ron Sutton (2011), Bob and Joyce Shapiro (2011), The Assistance League of Amador Valley (2011), Dr. Pushpa Dalal (2010), Chris Miller (2010), Bob Athenour (2010), The George A. Spiliotopoulos Invitational Tournament Volunteers (2010), Jerri Pantages Long (2009), Sue Evans (2009), Ken Mano (2009), Lori Rice (2008), Diana and Howard Mendenhall (2008).

Remembering Janet Liang:
We honor our youngest Juanita Haugen Community of Character Award recipient, Janet Liang, who died September 11, 2012, almost four months after receiving this award. Janet was diagnosed with Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2009 and dedicated much of her time to bringing awareness for the need of bone marrow donors. Her efforts increased marrow donations for the national registry of Be the Match at www.marrow.org . Janet’s acceptance speech from May 2012 is available on Youtube.com along with videos of our other 2012 award winners. Janet’s video can be found by searching “Community of Character Collaborative Honors Janet Liang May 2012” on Youtube.com’s site. We will have informational flyers from Be The Match available at our Awards Luncheon.

Businesses, groups and individuals wishing to sponsor our event may do so by contacting Community of Character Board President Kelly Dulka at (925) 263-4444 or by email at kdulka@ymcaeastbay.org . Sponsors will receive seating for 8 and recognition at our event.

The Juanita Haugen High School Scholarship Fund:

The Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative honors three high school students with the Juanita Haugen High School Civic Engagement Award every year. One student from Village High School, Amador Valley High School and Foothill High School receive an award in memory of Juanita Haugen. Students are honored for exhibiting outstanding character traits and exemplary community service. Winners for the 2012 school year were Cynthia Hsia of Amador Valley High School, Catherine Mayo of Foothill High School and Connor Luce of Village High School. Contributions can be sent to P.O. Box 21, Pleasanton, CA 94566. Please indicate the Juanita Haugen Scholarship Fund on your check or include a note with your contribution.

The Community of Character

The Community of Character Collaborative is a non-profit organization of volunteers working together to create a Pleasanton community culture built on values, goodwill, and the community-accepted traits of Responsibility, Compassion, Self-Discipline, Honesty, Respect and Integrity. This volunteer committee is jointly supported by the City of Pleasanton, Pleasanton Unified School District, Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce and various business, individuals, non-profits, service and faith based organizations. For information on becoming an Organization of Character or more information visit www.communityofcharacter.org .