The Trustees of The Salisbury Award are pleased to announce the presentation of The Salisbury Award to the Fruitland Community Center, Mrs. Mary Gladys Jones, Founder and Mrs. Alexis Dashield, President on Tuesday, March 6th at The Salisbury Noon Rotary Club meeting. In addition to presenting a plaque to memorialize the selection, the Trustees will make a donation in the amount of $500 to a non-profit organization chosen by the honoree.
The Salisbury Award is the community’s oldest and most prestigious independent civic award. First given in 1926, the award was established and originally endowed by local businessman G. William Phillips to recognize “service that has been the greatest benefit to the happiness, prosperity, intellectual advancement or moral growth of the community”.
Mrs. Jones founded the Fruitland Community Center in 1984 after retiring in 1983 from a 42-year teaching career in the Public Schools of Worcester and Wicomico Counties. In the last 35 years Mrs. Jones has tutored and mentored hundreds of children. Over 1,500 students have gone through the program and benefited from the love, support, education and mentoring that has enriched and defined their lives.
The Fruitland Community Center also established a Boy Scout Troop, a Girl Scott Troop, and a 4-H club. Some years ago, Mrs.Dashield implemented a STEM program to introduce the children to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Many of these young men and women have gone on to attend college, becoming Engineers, Doctors and Entrepreneurs.
This ceremony marks the 66th time The Salisbury Award has been presented to an individual or an organization since the Award’s inception. Previous honorees include James M. Bennett, Avery Hall, Richard Henson, Frank Perdue, Dick Hazel, Sam Seidel, Paul Martin, Virginia Layfield, Mitzi Perdue, Lewis Riley, Pete Cooper, George Whitehead, Tony Sarbanes, Bill Ahtes, Ben’s Red Swings, and The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, The Magi Fund, Norm Conway, Bob Cook and The Greater Salisbury Committee.
To learn more about The Salisbury Award and its history, including a list of all the honorees since 1926, please visit our Facebook page.
Photo courtesy of Todd Dudek
