Celebration of Service: Overview

Go to:   Sponsorship Form  •  Nomination Form

One of the premier events on the Jacksonville social calendar is the annual Celebration of Service held each April to honor the community’s most outstanding volunteers.   View all award recipients for COS 2008.

Delores Barr Weaver

2008 Recipient of the Bernard V.Gregory Award

congratulated by Gary Chartrand, Chairman and CEO,

Acosta Sales and Marketing Company

The black tie event takes place at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts, with the VIP reception in the Uible marquee overlooking the river. Some of the city’s highly acclaimed restaurants volunteer an abundance of delicacies and the well-dressed guests drift from one to the other, sampling a veritable feast. Then as the sun sets and the city lights come up, the group gathers in the Moran Theatre for the entertainment and the awards presentation.

These awards are presented to individuals and organizations which have demonstrated an extraordinary degree of community involvement and volunteer service. The highlight of the evening is the presentation of two awards:  the Tillie Kidd Fowler Award which honors the power and value of volunteers and the Bernard V. Gregory Servant Leader Award which is given to an individual who has dedicated his or her life to making a difference serving in our community.

HandsOn Jacksonville has been honoring Northeast Florida’s most dedicated volunteers for more than 20 years. Celebration of Service 2009 will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2009.  Tickets for the awards presentation are $15.00 each; tickets for the VIP reception and choice seating in the theatre are $100.00 each. For more information, please call the HandsOn Jacksonville office at 904-332-6767..

To view Celebration of Service sponsorship opportunities, click How You Can Help.  To sign up as a sponsor click SPONSORSHIP FORM.

The deadline for submitting volunteer nominations is October 31st of each year.  

If you know of people or groups who are volunteering their time to improve our community, please take the time to nominate them. You’ll help us continue the tradition of gratitude. To submit a nomination, click CELEBRATION OF SERVICE NOMINATION FORM, download and follow the instructions given.

Note that the CELEBRATION OF SERVICE NOMINATION FORM is in pdf format which requires Adobe Reader to view. To download the free reader click the icon:

About the Heart of Gold Awards

  • All nominees must have provided volunteer services to a nonprofit organization in at least one of the following counties: Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns.
  • Volunteer service must have been performed during a minimum of the previous two years.
  • Volunteer service cannot be a paid job function for the nominee.
  • Nominations cannot be accepted if the nominee has received a Heart of Gold award within the last 2 years.
  • Employees of HandsOn Jacksonville and their families are not eligible.

Nomination Instructions:

  • The official nomination form must be filled out completely. Please print or type legibly. Well-written forms score higher with judges. Computerized versions of the original form will be accepted only if original space limitations of the form are observed.
  • One individual or one group nominee per form.
  • Please verify all nominee contact information.
  • Please do not send any support materials with the application. Support materials such as brochures, newspaper articles, photographs, newsletters, videotapes or letters of recommendation will be discarded.
  • Original nominations forms with original signature and 6 photocopies of each must be hand delivered or received by mail no later than 4:30 pm, Monday, October 31.
  • Nomination forms are the property of HandsOn Jacksonville and will not be returned. We will notify the nominator when the form has been received.
  • Decisions made by the independent panel of community judges are final.
  • Volunteer Jacksonville will contact the Heart of Gold awardees and their nominators by January 31 of any given year. Please do not contact Volunteer Jacksonville to see if your nominee has been selected.
  • The following are invited guests at the Celebration of Service: each nominee and one guest, the executive director and the volunteer program coordinator from the nominating organization.
  • HandsOn Jacksonville reserves the right to provide information on volunteer activities to the news media.
  • HandsOn Jacksonville reserves the right to add or remove a category based on community response. In the case of a category being removed, the nominee will be placed in the next most appropriate category.

Questions concerning the nomination process should be directed to Lynn Weise Mora, Community Relations Director (904) 332-6767 x 118, or to lynn@volunteerjacksonville.org.