Don Volker Leadership Award

Don Volker Leadership Award

The Don Volker Leadership Award was established by the 1983 Class of Leadership Lawrence to honor a Lawrence leader in memory of Don Volker.

Don Volker was the primary force in establishing the Leadership Lawrence Program, and served as its first chairman until his death in December 1982 during the program year of the first Leadership Lawrence Class.

The 1983 Class contributed funds to provide a permanent plaque to which the name of each year's honoree can be added, plus an individual award for the first year's recipient, Nelson Krueger. It was the expressed hope of the class that each future Leadership Lawrence Class will select a person to be honored with this award at the class graduation ceremony.

The members of the initial class, who benefited from Don Volker's participation in the early class sessions before his death, suggested the following criteria for the selection:

The person honored by the Don Volker Leadership Award need not be connected in any way with the Leadership Lawrence Program. The man or woman should be a leader in Lawrence who demonstrates the enthusiasm that surrounded Don Volker for projects, people and Lawrence. The recipient should have the ability to instill in other people the belief in their own ability to succeed.

Past Recipients