Beatrice Sutton Presented

with LSF's Highest Honor

Soaring Award for HOPE House Staffer

3 December 2008 - TW

Beatrice J. Sutton, Dietary Specialist at LSF's HOPE House Youth Shelter in Crestview, FL, has been presented with the Soaring Award, Lutheran Service Florida's highest honor.

The award certificate states that it was given to Ms. Sutton for "your gift of reaching out to community resources and providing them the opportunity to share in making the dream of a more spacious HOPE House a reality."  CEO Samuel Sipes presented the award during the dedication of a new dayroom, counseling office and conference room at HOPE House in October.  (Read about the Dedication here.)

According to the awards and recognitions guidelines of LSF, the Soaring Award recognizes "actions above and beyond the call of duty" that result in benefit to the agency and those who are served.

Ms. Sutton's work was extensive in making phone calls and contacts to contractors, engineers and suppliers to assist with several phases of renovation of both the exterior and interior for the youth shelter, covering approximately a year of work, and which resulted in nearly all of the work and materials being donated.  Cynthia Freshour, LSF Outreach Specialist for the area, described Ms. Sutton's work of making dreams into reality as nothing less than "a miracle."  (Click here for a complete story of the HOPE House renovations and Bea Sutton's work to make it happen.)

"Bea made this expansion happen," said Ms. Freshour.  "She was the driving force.  And she did it!  And the thing was, she enjoyed it, and that was the neat thing to watch.  It was a massive project that she absolutely should be recognized for, and we're thrilled for her."

"Bea is an incredibly resourceful women, and she is difficult to say no to," said LSF CEO Sam Sipes.  "Her passion led all those involved with this project to donate a lot of services and materials.  We are delighted to honor her for her achievement."

Beth Deck, LSF's Northwest Region Director, also praised Ms. Sutton for her dedication and work. 

"In my 17 plus years here, I have not seen anyone else to bring in more or put out more than she has done in this one project [for HOPE House].  She truly has 'golden fingers,' and maybe we should have given her a golden telephone as an award, because she does this all by telephone, and it's just awesome to watch what she does.  She is just amazing."

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