[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Genie Rogers awarded Lang Award for volunteer service

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: CONTACT: John Baker
Trust Specialist
(573) 817-5027
jdbaker at GoColumbiaMo.com



Genie Rogers awarded Lang Award for volunteer service

COLUMBIA, MO (July 7, 2015) - Genie Rogers was selected to receive the seventh annual Howard B. Lang, Jr. Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service to the City of Columbia. She was recognized at the top of the Columbia City Council meeting on Monday, July 6, 2015. Numerous members of her family and friendship circle were present to observe the award presentation.

 

The Lang Award was initiated by a gift from Leo Hill in 2008 to honor the memory of Howard B. Lang, Jr., who served as Columbia’s mayor from 1953 to 1957, and to recognize a citizen annually who models the highest qualities of volunteerism to City programs or services. Mr. Hill was city manager during the years when Mr. Lang was mayor.

 

Genie Rogers, this year’s award recipient, has served her City well for many years, first as an active member of the Boone County Community Services Advisory Commission for twelve years, and later, to the present time, through tireless hours devoted to low-income persons through the Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

 

She has served as Chairperson of both commissions, and in both organizations she has shown incredible depth of knowledge and understanding of client needs and the local service agencies that may be of real assistance to commission clients. Genie’s leadership is guided by two main principles: that everyone deserves an opportunity to be self-sufficient, and that everyone should have at least decent, safe, healthy, and affordable housing.

 

Genie also has a track record as an excellent financial manager, appreciating the value of public and private dollars. She works diligently to make sure that agencies serving Housing Authority clients use money well, thereby providing effective stewardship over dollars intended to help citizens.

 

In fact, during the years of her leadership, the Housing Authority transitioned to a model where service “output” became secondary and “outcomes” became primary—in other words, services became evaluated not by how many times they were offered, but by the effective good that resulted for clients. And she strongly supports connecting housing with other supportive services to help children, families, persons with disabilities, and the elderly.

 

Columbia Housing Authority, under Genie’s leadership, has initiated the renovation of hundreds of units of public housing and worked with other City officials to secure stable and adequate financing for the work.

 

In the last few years the Columbia Housing Authority has transitioned into a high-performing public housing authority with well-maintained properties, safe neighborhoods, increased family self-sufficiency, and independent living services.

 

According to one of Genie’s nominators, her work “has truly made a difference because CHA neighborhoods today are places where people want to live and raise a family.”

 

The selection committee for the annual Lang award changes every year, but always includes the sitting Mayor of Columbia. Other members of the 2015 selection committee were Robert C. Smith, Mike Griggs, Lori Neidel, and Myra Lewis-Drummond. The committee’s selection criteria are a nominee’s volunteer activities, personal initiative, and impact.

A cash gift of $1,000 is included with the award; Genie Rogers asked that it be designated for the Columbia Housing Authority Moving Ahead program, an after school tutoring and nutrition program for K through 8th grade.

 

Also present at the July 6 Council meeting was Khaki Westerfield, daughter of Howard B. Lang, Jr.

Past recipients of the Lang Award are Ed Kaiser, Darwin Hindman, Dave Griggs, Robert C. Smith, Eva Jo Sapp (posthumously), and Kee Groshong.



This release has the following attachments:

http://www.gocolumbiamo.com/CMS/pressreleases/downloadfile.php?id=980



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