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Two receive Spirit of Service Award

By Carl Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: August 1, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Only two Pasco County residents, Lester Cypher and Sister Joan Foley, have received the highest honor from the Florida Senate, the Spirit of Service Award.

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, recently bestowed the medals and certificates on the winners during an appearance at Heritage Lake. State Sen. Mike Fasano nominated the long-time community leaders.

Cypher, CEO of the Volunteer Way, supervises the nonprofit food bank for the past 14 years. The organization now serves some 40,000 meals a week to those less fortunate.

Volunteer Way also distributes about 4 million pounds of food per year to other food banks and nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

Cypher is a three-time recipient of Florida's Point of Light Award. He has also received President Bush's Daily Point of Light Award, JC Penney's Golden Rule Award and Christian International Outreach Ministries' 2009 Humanitarian Award.

Sister Foley had founded Connections, a job development service in New Port Richey, in 1991. She serves in the order of Medical Mission Sisters.

She was executive director of Connections through 1998 and continues to serve on its board of directors. Recently she became program coordinator for St. Vincent de Paul Resource Center.

Following her medical training at Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C., Sister Foley served in medical facilities in Pakistan and Bangladesh. After serving overseas she helped open and operate primary care clinics in rural portions of North Carolina and Georgia.

In addition to her work at Connections, Sister Foley is the past president of the Pasco County Homeless Coalition. She also serves on Pasco County's Ex-Offender Reentry Coalition.

Sister Foley was nominated in 2002 for the Florida Coalition for the Homeless' Outstanding Service to People in Florida Award.

Carl Orth can be reached at 727-815-1068 or corth@suncoastnews.com.

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