Nereyda Manriquez Receives Governor's Volunteer Award

2015 Jul 13

The Buena Vista University (BVU) College Republicans organization and Nereyda Manriquez, a recent BVU graduate with a degree in accounting and Spanish from Storm Lake, were honored at the 2015 Governor's Volunteer Award ceremonies held in June on the BVU campus.

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds attended the event, and more than 65 individuals and organizations from northwest Iowa received awards at the event in Storm Lake, which was one of six awards programs held across Iowa.

The BVU College Republicans organization was nominated by the Iowa Department of Transportation, and the BVU students were nominated by Dr. Ashley Farmer-Hanson, director of civic engagement at BVU, who is a member of the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and co-chair of its volunteer engagement committee.

Manriquez was involved in a variety of volunteer organizations and activities and awarded for working with BV Buddies, an organization in which students serve as mentors to local middle school students as well as her work as a Student MOVE (Mobilizing Outreach Volunteer Efforts) volunteer.

The Governor's Volunteer Awards program was created in 1982, with inaugural awards presented in 1983. What began as a small program only available to state government agencies has expanded over the years and now provides all Iowa non-profit, charitable and government organizations with a way to honor their volunteers with a prestigious state-level recognition award.

Several hundred volunteers are recognized each year with awards in one of several categories: Individual, Group, Length of Service or Disaster Volunteer. The program is coordinated by the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service and the Governor's Office.

More information about the organization and a complete list of 2015 award recipients is available at www.volunteeriowa.org.