CASA/GAL Ellen McCormick wins Volunteer of the Month Award
CASA OF NH NEWS — (Jul 14, 2010) —
Wednesday, July 14, 2010: Under a large white tent on the rainy grounds of the Stonebridge Country Club in Goffstown, Ellen McCormick, a CASA volunteer with twelve years of service, was awarded Volunteer of the Month by Governor John Lynch. With her husband, Jim, by her side, and friends Barbara and Sue cheering her on, she graciously accepted. Also attending was Diane Valladares, CASA’s Training & Recruitment Coordinator, who nominated Ellen in 2009 for the Spirit of NH Volunteer of the Year Award.
By 2008, when Ellen celebrated 10 years with CASA, she had already advocated for 23 children in the greater Nashua area. She decided to end her role as a guardian ad litem, but stay connected in different ways. She filled in at hearings for other volunteers, attended court with first-time volunteers, developed a training to improve court report writing, worked tirelessly on fund raising events, and eventually started co-interviewing potential volunteers. Somewhere along the line she ended up back on a case. CASA works just seems to come naturally to her.
Ellen enjoys creative writing and travel when she isn’t busy advocating, and she has used her writing skills to publish a piece featuring fellow CASA Brad Hunt in the Huffington Post. She also wrote the biographical sketches of the models in the recent CASA Fashion Show. Congratulations, Ellen, on yet another achievement!
Standing left to right: Governor John Lynch; Ellen McCormick; and Jim McCormick
