College awards Citizens Medals

Author: Kelly Janis

Every year since 2000, the Middlebury College Citizens Medals program has sought to recognize exemplary local residents for their civic contributions and service in the fields of medicine, education, business, philanthropy, government and the arts.

According to a summary of the annual awards presentation at the Middlebury Inn published in the Jan. 10 issue of The Addison Independent, this year's medal winners - selected by a committee of College faculty and staff, under the leadership of President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz - have made the following contributions to the enrichment of Addison County and beyond:

Richard Bullock

•Commander of the American Legion
•Chair of the Memorial Day parade
•Radio broadcaster for Middlebury Union High School athletics
•Leader in the United Way's annual Day of Caring


Peggy Peabody

•Clerk of the fire district, for which she established a community newsletter detailing pertinent happenings in the region
•Chairperson of the East Middlebury Historical Society
•Served on the Frog Hollow Craft Center board at the center's inception
•Aided in the leadership of the Middlebury Recreation Council during the construction of Recreation Park
•Functioned as a troop leader for both Brownies and Girl Scouts, and directed the summer Scout Day Camp


Bill Scott, Jr.

•Educator and mentor at the Patricia A. Hannaford Career Center
•Participated in the Ferrisburgh Conservation Commission
•Served as president of the Addison County Farm Bureau and as a board member of the Vermont Future Farmers of America and the Watershed Center
•Owned and operated Scott's Greenbush Gardens in North Ferrisburgh


Ann Hoover

•Helped lead the "People for Less Pollution" campaign, which sought to curb tire burning in Ticonderoga, N.Y. last fall
•Served on the board of the Counseling Service of Addison County
•Active participant in the Addison Peace Coalition
•Aids in staffing the polls on Election Day
•Member of the Audobon Society, the Nature Conservancy and the Green Mountain Club
•Reads to a community member with failing eyesight weekly


Hoover expressed her hearty enthusiasm at garnering the accolade.

"I thought it was really exciting," she said. "I couldn't believe it."

Hoover views service to the community as a natural extension of being an engaged, attentive citizen. "This is where we live," she said. "I think we have to take care of what's around us."

Her attitude was recently encapsulated by a speech made by Bill McKibben at the conclusion of the Jan. 20 Peace Walk from the town green to Mead Chapel, in which he referred to the College's Get Outside Week. "He said that it's not just about going outside," Hoover recalled. "It's about living outside. Getting outside of yourself. And I thought that was really good."

Civic engagement, she believes, is ultimately self-perpetuating. "Once you get started, it seems to grow," she said. "You get more involved with more things."

Indeed, Hoover's involvement in the community continues to grow. Her next significant undertaking will be in conjunction with the Addison Peace Coalition, with whom she participates in a vigil on the town green every Saturday morning. "We're trying to organize something in March to observe the date of the beginning of the war in Iraq," she said. "We're planning on having a sort of sing-a-long for peace, and inviting everybody - not just all of the churches, but Muslims and Buddhists and everybody - to come."