The Trustees of The Salisbury Award are pleased to announce the presentation of The Salisbury Award to The Greater Salisbury Committee (GSC). GSC was honored for its contributions to our community at Wicomico County’s 150th Year Celebration on 9/16/17 at Salisbury University. The award was accepted by Ron Boltz, Chairman of GSC. 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”. Mr. Phillips’ role in creating the award was unknown by the general public until his death some 25 years later.
The Greater Salisbury Com
mittee is celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2017. Their mission is ” to serve as a catalyst to improve our community by actively seeking sustainable solutions to the challenges that face the area.” GSC’s membership includes more than 100 community leaders from the business, educational, institutional and non-profit sectors of Salisbury, Wicomico County, and the Lower Eastern Shore. They have been instrumental in establishing entities such as: Wor-Wic Community College, The Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development, Del-Mar-Va Water Transport Committee, Junior Achievement, Salisbury Neighborhood Housing Services, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island.
This ceremony marks the 65th 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 and last year’s recipient Bob Cook.
To learn more about The Salisbury Award and its history, including a list of all the honorees since 1926, please visit the new Facebook page that is currently under construction and will be updated as more history is gathered. The address is www.facebook.com/thesalisburyaward.
