2006 Service Award Winners
FRANK AND SHARON PATER
The Paters first heard of orienteering through an article in the Wilmington News Journal newspaper. Frank joined DVOA in 1982 with a family membership, which included wife Sharon and very young children Frank III and Steven. They volunteered to help with registration, course setting, mapping, child care, or however they were needed or able. Two more children, son Richard and daughter Sarah, soon joined the family. During the child-rearing years, other activities such as soccer coach and soccer mom took precedence over orienteering, but now that the children are grown, Frank and Sharon are again involved. He served in the important job of registrar for our A event this past fall at Fair Hill in Maryland.
Frank is a computer analyst and, back when he first joined our club, listed handball and soccer as hobbies. Sharon is a teacher and enjoys photography. They live in Wilmington, DE.
ROGER AND ANDREA HARTLEY
We didn't have to explain orienteering to Roger and Andrea. Being from Britain they were already familiar with the sport, so when they noticed an O' sign along the road one day, they followed it to one of our events at French Creek. This was back in 1985. They immediately got a family membership to include their young children Joanna and Eric, and became very much involved with helping with local events. Roger took over as director of the String-O for kids, serving faithfully for several years while it was being promoted on a national level. This involved storing and inventorying supplies, arriving early at events to set up a string course, and then encouraging kids to give it a try.
Roger served as DVOA trustee from 1988 to 1993 and has served many times as meet director or helper, both at local and national events, with Andrea helping also in some capacity. No one is more proficient or conscientious in using the course printer than Roger; he has printed courses for many events. Roger was part of the Start Crew at the World Orienteering Championships held in New York state in 1993, an unforgettable event for all of those attending.
Roger is a project engineer and Andrea is a teacher. They live in Perkasie, PA.
RICK WHIFFEN
Rick really stands out because of his enthusiasm for orienteering and his desire to spread the word to as many people as possible. Our records show that he first joined DVOA in May of 1983. In July of the same year he called me, asking if it would be possible to borrow some controls to use at an orienteering theme birthday party he was giving for his four-year-old son. Rick prepared a simple map of a local park, and seventeen children from the Wooly Bear Day Care Center in Lansdale had fun while participating in possibly the first O' event for ages four and under. A photo and an article appeared in the local newspaper, and the event was also written up in our national magazine of the time, Orienteering USA.
Rick is a computer analyst and has continued to publicize orienteering among his work associates. He has helped at local events and in recent years has teamed up with Udaya Bollineri as co-meet directors at French Creek West, Evansburg, and most recently this past fall at our new map of Tyler State Park.
Rick's wife, Mary, is a physician, and they live in North Wales, PA. They have three grown children: Richard, Amy and Gail.