BALTIMORE, MD – May 4, 2011 – Keith Dillenbeck of Mt. Airy, Md., was honored recently with the American Cancer Society’s Award of Excellence for Volunteer Leadership for the South Atlantic Division. The award was presented at a special banquet during the Division’s Volunteer Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.
Nominations for the Award of Excellence were submitted by staff and volunteers from across the South Atlantic Division, which includes Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
“The Awards of Excellence are the highest honor we bestow on our volunteers, community groups and businesses,” shared Paula Mohan, chief executive officer for the Society’s South Atlantic Division. “The leadership and dedication demonstrated by these award recipients is exceptional, and we are grateful to have them out in our communities representing our organization.”
Dillenbeck began his volunteer role with the American Cancer Society in 1997 as chair of the Daffodil Days campaign in Maryland. He served as a Relay For Life event chair and president of the Society’s board of directors in Carroll County, Md. Over the years, Dillenbeck’s leadership extended to the Society’s advocacy efforts where he served as a member of the state advocacy steering committee supporting smoke-free legislation, increasing the tobacco tax and improving access to early detection screenings for the underserved and underinsured. He currently serves as the chair of the Society’s volunteer leadership council in Maryland.
“Keith’s business skills, combined with his vast knowledge of the American Cancer Society, have enabled him to help other volunteers evolve in their own roles, and have contributed significantly to our overall community outreach and impact,” said Gloria Jetter, the Society’s state vice president for Maryland.
The South Atlantic Division received numerous nominations representing excellence in a variety of categories. The recipients were selected by special committee formed from the Division’s volunteer board of directors.
About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org. For cancer news in your community, visit sacancernews.org.
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Photo of Keith Dillenbeck available for download.
Caption: Cliff Berg, chair of the American Cancer Society’s South Atlantic Division Board of Directors, and Paula Mohan, CEO of the Society’s South Atlantic Division, honor volunteer Keith Dillenbeck at the organization’s Volunteer Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia.