The United

Way recently held a ceremony at the Fayette County Public Library honoring

their Volunteers of the Year in both the adult and the teen categories.

Maribeth Nolan,

a Starr's Mill High School student, received the Crystal Angle Youth Volunteer

of the Year Award. Nolan, the daughter of Tom and Debra Nolan, started

new programs for excpetional children and teen worship at Holy Trinity

Catholic Church and is active in a number of organizations including Habitat

for Humanity, Relay for Life, Teen Pro-Life Group, Beta Club, Mustard

Seed Community and the American Red Cross among others. Nolan plans on

becoming a missionary after graduation from college.

The other nominee

for the Crystal Angel Award was Fayette County High School student Jessica

Padgett. Padgett, a member of the Southern Crescent Symphony Orchestra,

developed and formed the church orchestra and arranged music for the flute

choir. She is the daughter of Duncan and Toni Padgett.

"These

young people are angels to this community. They show a committment that

is well beyond their years," said Jason Thompson of Slade and Associates

and United Way Volunteerism Committee Chair. He went on to state that

the girls were separated by one point when scored by an objective committee.

The Francis

Reeves Community Service Award went to Stephen Weeman, a local resident

who has been involved with the Fayette County Youth Soccer League since

its beginnings in 1977. That year there were 40 childen playing soccer

in the league. Today there are over 1,500 players in the league. Weeman

also designed and obtained funding for indoor soccer, started the Select

Soccer program in 1984 and was inducted in the Georgia Soccer Hall of

Fame in 2000. He is involved with Fayette United Methodist Church, recieved

the Eastern Airlines Service Award and is president of the Soccer Center.

Other residents

nominated for this award were Connie Haynes, a wildlife rehabilitator

active with the Girl Scouts; Dianne Hood, a volunteer at Sara Harp Minter

Elementary and PTO Volunteer team leader; Carolyn Phillips, a volunteer

with the Fayette County Diabetes Association; Tina Scarbrough, a volunteer

with Fayette County Board of Education; Joan Sords, a literacy tutor at

Oak Grove Elementary School; Amy Steffan, a mentor who created "Battle

of the Books"; Meloni Thompson, a volunteer at Sara Harp Minter and

PTO President; Creighton Warren, a volunteer for Fayette Senior Services

and Richard Williams, a mentor in both Coweta and Fayette school systems

and the one who established the mentoring component of Theta Lambda Fraternity.

Francis Reeves

has been active in the community for over 25 years. She was behind the

formation of Fayette Senior Services and was involved with the 4-H Club,

and the Human Services Council as well as the United Way of Fayette County

and other community programming. She is still an active member with the

AARP, the Fayette County Historical Society, Fayette Senior Services and

the Human Services Council.

"She is

a true heroine, one to whom we can look for inspiration," said Thompson.

"Those adults who were nominated for this award follow in her footsteps

in giving us heroes we can admire."