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Jefferson Awards 2011

Toledo started participating in the Jefferson Awards in 2002, honoring local people each year who make a positive impact on the community. The program was started nationally in 1972 by the American Institute for Public Service. CLICK ON ANY PHOTO TO VIEW FULL IMAGE, START SLIDE SHOW.

Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, presents Kim Holmes with her Jefferson Award. Holmes was inspired by her two autistic children to co-found Agility Angels, an organization that teaches children with autism how to train dogs and participate in canine agility trials.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, presents Kim Holmes with her Jefferson Award. Holmes was inspired ... THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, embraces Duke Wheeler as he presents him with his Jefferson Award. Wheeler has used his Whitehouse Tree Farm to raise money for people in need, including paying medical bills for a 10-year-old boy who needed a liver transplant.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, embraces Duke Wheeler as he presents him with his Jefferson ... THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, presents Mary Lou Leonard with her Jefferson Award. Leonard, known to some as “the Shoe Lady,” collects tennis shoes from drop-off locations and distributes them to people in need. She is also the founder of Christian Health Ministries, an inner-city clinic that provides medical care to the poor.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Blade President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, presents Mary Lou Leonard with her Jefferson Award. Leonard, known ... THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, embraces Richard R. Faist as he presents him with his Jefferson Award. Faist has served as a COMPASS board member for more than four decades. The organization provides inpatient and outpatient alcohol and drug abuse treatment to 2,500 men and women each year and offers free HIV education to another 2,000 people annually.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo President and General Manager Joseph H. Zerbey IV, left, embraces Richard R. Faist as he presents him with his Jefferson ... THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

Lake High School students, from left, Hunter Johnson, 17, Amy Patel, 17, and Casey Witt, 18, are presented with a Youth Jefferson Award by David Schlaudecker, executive director of Leadership Toledo, for work with Students In Action at Lake High School.

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Lake High School students, from left, Hunter Johnson, 17, Amy Patel, 17, and Casey Witt, 18, are presented with a ... THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

Enlarge | Buy This Photo Jefferson Award recipients from left, Duke Wheeler, Kim Holmes, Richard R. Faist, and Mary Lou Leonard. THE BLADE/DAVE ZAPOTOSKY

Jefferson Awards 2011

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