Good samaritans awarded medals for altruism

Author: Tamara Hilmes

The Middlebury community recognized some of its most avid contributors on January 9, when President Liebowitz awarded medals to four devoted Addison County volunteers. The ceremony, which is held annually, began at the College during the Bicentennial, and recognizes citizens who have helped to strengthen the Addison County community. This year's recipients included Christine and Michael Steier, for their service at the Open Door Clinic, Fletcher Brush, for his role in the creation of a local sports center and Lucien Paquette, founder of the Addison County Fair and Field days.

Before moving to Vermont in 2003, Michael, a retired cardiac and thoracic surgeon and Christine, an emergency nurse, worked and volunteered in Florida for a couple of years. During that time, the two worked for the Salvation Army in Ft. Myers and volunteered for the Red Cross. The Steiers split their time between volunteering at food pantries and soup kitchens and hosting a clinic at the local Hispanic counseling center once a week. The Steiers have traveled around the world, helping communities in Africa, Russia, Mexico and Nepal. Today, they devote their time to local efforts in the Middlebury community.

"My husband and I have been volunteering for years and years," said Christine. "We just decided that this was what we wanted to do."

The Steiers have devoted themselves to providing healthcare for the citizens of Addison County, volunteering at the Open Door Clinic, of which Christine was named director in 2005. The clinic provides healthcare to people in need of better coverage, as well as to those who lack any type of health insurance. Michael has volunteered as a physician at the clinic for the past three years and became its medical director in 2005.

"We pretty much do everything that you would get at a normal doctor's office," said Christine.

According to Christine, the clinic provides primary medical care and physical therapy, handles referrals and arranges surgeries.

Despite the Steiers hard work, the two never expected to be publicly recognized for their contributions.

"My husband and I found out that we had won the award in December, when we received a letter," Christine said. "We'd been told that we were nominated, but we were still very surprised when we found out that we had won."

However, medical volunteer work was not the only service recognized this year. Fletcher Brush, a Customer Relations Manager for Co-operative Insurance Companies, incorporates his "love of the game" into his volunteer work. Brush spent a number of years building the foundation for the Memorial Sports Center, located at 296 Buttolph Dr. in Middlebury. "When I was growing up, we didn't have the facilities to play hockey, so we played basketball instead," Brush explained. "Over the years I sensed a need for an all-purpose facility, so we kept working and fundraising to meet this goal."

The sports center has benefited the younger citizens of the Middlebury community, hosting various sports games throughout the years. "The kids from the high school are always walking over," said Brush. "In winter, the center serves young skaters and one of the most thrilling things that it has produced is women's ice hockey. There is now a women's ice hockey team at the high school. Before the facility was built, we didn't have that."

Aside from his enthusiasm for sports, Brush is a member of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce, the Middlebury Rotary Club and the Middlebury Community House, among others. His membership at the Salisbury Historical Society and Village Cemetery Restoration Project prompted him to start his own website, UnderBrush.org, devoted to raising money for the Vermont Old Cemetery Association.

"I spent a few years trying to track down where my great-great-great grandparents were buried, because I knew that it was somewhere in Addison County," Brush said. "I had trouble finding the records, and I though that if I'm having this many challenges, then a lot of other people probably are too." In order to benefit other researchers, Brush and his nephew, a web-design expert, launched a website to aid people in tracing their ancestry. "It's really just a hobby, but it's what I will be working on once I reach my golden years," joked Brush.

His own ancestry is responsible for Brush's altruism, a value he knows well from childhood. "I've done what I've done because of my parents," Brush confessed. "They had given a lot to the community, and they expected their children to help give back. "

Lucien Paquette, an active member of the Middlebury community since 1948, when he founded the Addison County Fair and Field days, was unavailable for comment. Over the years, he has continued to oversee the fair and has been an enthusiastic supporter of fundraising activities at St. Mary's school.

Aside from receiving a medal and a banquet in their honor, the award recipients' causes benefited from their new-found fame.

"Winning this award has really helped the Clinic," Christine noted. "Community members have been coming out of the woodwork to offer us help. I was also surprised by the large picture in the newspaper, which gave us a lot of free advertising. I would just like to give a big thanks to the college for this award. It has helped us so much."