Awards, Sep 23, 1999

The following awards have been presented for work in philanthropy, fund raising, volunteerism, and non-profit management:

Community services. The Community Foundation of St. Joseph County (South Bend, Ind.) has presented its inaugural Leighton Award for Nonprofit Excellence to LOGAN (South Bend), an organization that serves mentally disabled people, and its long-time executive director, Daniel Harshman. The award recognizes outstanding achievement by a local charity serving St. Joseph County, Ind. It was created earlier this year through a $2.1-million gift from Judd and Mary Morris Leighton and the Leighton-Oare Foundation (South Bend), and conveys a $100,000 challenge grant for endowment.

Health and human services. The National Assembly of Health and Human Service Organizations (Washington) has presented the following 1999 Excellence in National Leadership Awards to these individuals and organizations:

— Excellence in National Public Leadership: Representative Nancy L. Johnson, Republican of Connecticut, and Representative Nita M. Lowey, Democrat of New York.

— Excellence in National Board Leadership: Jean Galloway, past board chair of Volunteers of America (Alexandria, Va.) and vice-president of community affairs at KUSA-TV (Denver).

— Excellence in National Executive Leadership: Michael Faenza, president and chief executive officer, National Mental Health Association (Alexandria, Va.).

Legal services. Columbia Law School (New York) has announced the recipients of its 1999 Lawrence A. Wien Prize for Social Responsibility, which recognizes members of the legal profession who use their resources and legal skills to work for the public good. The award went to Nicole A. Gordon, executive director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, and to the New York law firm of Davis, Polk & Wardwell for its lead role in the Political Asylum Workshop, which provides pro bono services to help persecuted refugees who are seeking asylum in the United States.

Rural development and technology. The AOL Foundation (Dulles, Va.) and the National Center for Small Communities (Washington) have announced the recipients of the new AOL Rural Telecommunications Leadership Awards, which recognize and promote outstanding achievement in rural community development that results from the use of advanced telecommunications. The four categories and winners:

— Community Capacity Building: Sylvester, Ga., for Peanut.Org (People Electronically Acting Neighborly Utilizing Technology), which serves 600 users in two remote rural counties.

— Infrastructure Technology and Policy: Questa, N.M., for the Wireless Demonstration Project, which has made the Internet accessible to schools, businesses, the health clinic, and residents of this sparsely populated, mountain community.

— Telecommunications Applications: Maddock, N.D., for the new Rural Business and Technology Center, which promotes business development, health and child-care services, and computer and Internet training and education.

— Youth Development: McDermitt, Nev., for the Humboldt Internet Provider, which was established and is managed by local high-school students.