Corning Exchange honors community members

The Corning Exchange Club got together this month to enjoy a festive Christmas dinner and recognize members of the community for their service.

Known for its excellent catering service, this annual event is the one time when club members have dinner catered for them and their guests.

"The rest of the year members are on the other side of the table, catering public events to raise money to fund scholarships and charitable donations," said club President Dean Cofer. "Local Exchange members are proud of the fact that the club is able to donate in excess of $10,000 annually to fund scholarships and make donations to youth groups and other charitable causes."

During this year's holiday dinner the club gave out a number of awards including board member Delores May presenting the Americanism Award for 2012 to Dave Demo for creating and maintaining his Solano Street American flag project.

The Volunteerism Award was presented to Pay It Forward in recognition of painting and beautifying vacant downtown store fronts, cleaning sidewalks and myriad other projects. Lisa Rodriquez, of Edward Jones, accepted the award.

A 30-year Milestone Award was presented to club member Ross Turner, who became a member of Exchange in the same year as the club was chartered; and a 25-year Milestone Award was presented to club member John Larson.

Linda Lima, manager of the Senior Citizen Center, was on hand to present club executive board member Wilbur "Bucky" Bowen with a certificate naming him Senior Citizen of 2012.

"The Corning Exchange Club wishes everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year," said Cofer.