OTISVILLE, NY — On May 2, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Orange County honored the dedication and contributions of its volunteers at Be Creative! A Volunteer Appreciation Event, held at the Education Center & 4-H Park. 

“The event provided a meaningful opportunity to celebrate a year of hard work and gave volunteers from various programs a chance to connect and take pride in their accomplishments,” CCE Orange said.

Attendees included volunteers from programs including 4-H, Climate Stewards, Community Resilience Builders, Gleaning, Master Food Preservers, Master Gardeners, the Program Advisory Committee, Relatives as Parents Program, Two Generation Family & Youth Programming  as well as the board of directors and those who helped with last year’s country fair.

As volunteers arrived, they had an opportunity to get their creative juices flowing by painting rocks and/or designing a quilting square inspired by something that sparks joy in their lives.

After brunch, Melissa Shaw-Smith, the creative director of Wickham Works, spoke about the importance of creativity in our daily lives. She talked about how you don’t have to be a painter or a musician or an actor to be creative; all are creative. 

She then led a round of “Exquisite Corpse,” which is a collaborative drawing approach in which each collaborator adds to the composition, but can only see the end of what the previous person contributed. “Everyone’s creativity blossomed and many bizarre and humorous drawings were produced, CCE Orange said.

During this year’s event, CCE Orange County celebrated exceptional volunteers. The work is only possible because of its volunteers. “We appreciate each one of them for sharing their experience and knowledge with the people of Orange County,” CCE Orange said. “Some of them go above and beyond in their support of our organization and their service to our community.”

Honored were Brooke Moore, Nina Fraas, Gary Skinner, Doug Carter, Wendy Nocar and Megan Wieboldt.

“Your dedication, compassion, and generosity of time make a lasting impact on the entire Orange County community,” CCE Orange said. “Because of you, our programs don’t just exist, they thrive. You strengthen our mission, deepen our connections, and bring greater meaning to everything we do. We are truly grateful for all that you give and all that you make possible.”