Mayor's Community Service Award Winners Announced

Each year, the mayor of Phoenixville presents the Mayor's Community Service Awards to deserving citizens. On Monday, Feb. 28, Mayor Leo Scoda will honor the 2011 recipients at a brief ceremony at Borough Hall at 7 p.m.

Curious about who the recipients are? They volunteer at all types of organizations in the town, from the library to the town watch to the theater. This year's recipients help with safety, health, cultural, educational and other initiatives to make Phoenixville a better place.

The following is from Mayor Scoda. We'll post the first half (in alphabetical order) Saturday. Stay tuned for the rest of the recipients and their accomplishments on Sunday.

Juanita Bearden

A member of Grimes AME Church in Phoenixville for more than 20 years, Juanita Bearden is one of Grimes Church’s most active members, participating in their many events and fundraisers.

Bearden acts as a local missionary to her congregation, assisting people who are ill. She also committed to helping the less fortunate people in community with their special needs. Just being helpful is what gives her a great satisfaction. She also serves her church as a church steward.

Bearden graduated from the leadership academy conducted by the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation and has taken on the project of starting a food bank at Grimes Church.

Erin Burke

For the past five years, Erin Burke donated hundreds of hours to the development of a Phoenixville Town Watch organization. A founder of the south side town watch, Burke’s group recently combined with the north side town watch to form the Phoenixville Town Watch.

This organization is involved in looking out for and preventing more than just criminal activity. They have taken an active interest in housing issues in an effort to raise the quality of life in the borough. The group also watches out for neighbors, especially those who are disabled or elderly or live alone.

Burke is also a citizen volunteer serving on the borough council’s policy committee and is a volunteer member of the comprehensive plan task force. 

A past member of the Phoenixville Jaycees, she has assisted with that organization’s many activities and she also serves as a patient support specialist with the National Brain Tumor Society.

Rev. Ines Castro

Born in the Dominican Republic, Rev. Ines Castro spent much of her younger life in Puerto Rico where she met her husband José.

In 1955, the Castro family moved to Phoenixville due to her husband’s job with the local Christian Radio station WPHE. Here, Castro began her work with a small but growing Hispanic and Latino community. She found many needs, both physical and spiritual.

Castro began providing counseling to individuals and families. She helped with marriage counseling and assisted expectant mothers in their contacts with doctors and hospitals.

Castro opened her home to anyone in need of food or shelter. She provided assistance with translation after accompanying the person to appointments and even providing transportation.

Castro started the New Latin-American Church, the first ever Latin-American Church in Phoenixville, at the site of the old Bethel Baptist Church.

An advocate and a voice for Latino women, she hopes to some day open a shelter for single mothers and families.

She has her heart in the Phoenixville community and has instilled the idea of public service in her children.

Leo Custer

Leo Custer contributed more than 25 years of service to the borough of Phoenixville as a fire policeman through Phoenixville No. 1 Hose, Hook and Ladder. He was recently appointed to the rank of captain.

As a fire policeman Custer assists the police and fire departments through traffic control at the scenes of major fires and accidents. Fire police assist the borough for special events such as the Dogwood Festival, Firebird Festival and the Halloween and Christmas parades. The school district also uses the fire police services for many of their sporting and other events such as graduation.

Custer, as a fire policeman, is a member of a small group of volunteers that act to assist our community in many ways.

David Gill

David Gill contributed so much in so many different areas and organizations to make Phoenixville a better place to live.

Working with the Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Relay for Life, Communities That Care, The Phoenixville Community Health Foundation and more, Gill touched many facets of this great community.

Married and a father of two sons, Gill contributed 28 years of coaching to a number of our youth sports organizations—Kimberton Little League, Junior Legion Baseball, PMYC basketball and football, Youth Babe Ruth and Phoenixville Babe Ruth.

Gill served on the Phoenixville Recreation Board for the last six years. In this organization he assisted with events like the Halloween Parade and the July 4 Celebration.

An advocate for bringing back the summer playgrounds, Gill worked with Communities That Care and the Phoenixville Recreation Department to raise funds for the playgrounds. There are now three in borough parks. He worked with Sen. Andrew Dinniman to get funding for the pavilion that was just installed at Morris Street Park.

Gill helped coordinate the volunteers that provide the Santa’s House with Santa’s Helpers in downtown Phoenixville during the Christmas season.

In addition, Gill’s civic duties included a term on Phoenixville Borough Council.

Larry Gubanich

A very active Kiwanian, Larry Gubanich has given a lifetime of service to the greater Phoenixville community.

Gubanich actively participated in most of the service activities of the local Kiwanis Club, where he currently serves as fundraising chairman. He was co-chair of the project to build Children’s Plaza, which has added an excellent feature to the downtown business district.

In 2008 Gubanich coordinated the Phoenixville Holiday Parade and more recently has served as chair for the past three years for the Annual Duck Race. The race allows not only the Kiwanis Club but also other civic organizations to raise money.

Gubanich is a former Jaycees member and for many years helped with that organization’s activities and especially with the Dogwood Festival events.

The father of four grown children, Gubanich helped many of the youth sports organizations while his children were growing up. He is a past recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award at the Phoenixville YMCA.

Not one to shirk his civic responsibilities, Gubanich served a term of office as a school director on the Phoenixville Area School Board.

Kevin Kincaid

A volunteer at the Phoenixville Public Library since 2008, Kevin Kincaid logged hundreds of hours assisting at the library.

Kincaid donates his time and services three days each week. In 2010 he recorded 408 hours of volunteer work.

Typically, he assists in the circulation department—paging slips, shelving books that have been returned and checking books in and out for borrowers.

Kincaid has developed a reputation as being the Phoenixville Library’s best locator. If you can’t find something, Kincaid can.