“I grew up in a family that did a lot of volunteering. My mom’s been very active in town, so to me that’s what you do—you work to make your community a better place to live,” said Joanne Humphrey, who was recently recognized for her volunteer efforts.
That philanthropic attitude is what earned Humphrey the JoAnn Dutton Award—an honor given to women who participate in volunteer services on a daily basis to benefit the community. The award is sponsored by the Women’s Fund of the Richland County Foundation.
Humphrey, a part-time assistant receptionist at Pioneer Career and Technology Center, received this award in May of this year at the Tribute to Women in Industry (TWIN) Awards Program.
“I was totally flabbergasted,” she said in reaction to receiving the award. “It’s so humbling because there are so many people in town who really, truly make a huge difference in our town.”
Maura Teynor, Director of Donor Services and Communications at the Richland County Foundation, noted that the judges look for candidates who are active volunteers and strive to give back to the community.
“There’s a couple categories we look at,” Attorney Catherine Goldman (daughter of JoAnn Dutton and judge on the selection committee) said in reference to the selection of award recipients. She said they consider candidates’ volunteer participation, length of service in any particular organization, and leadership roles that they have held. “And for Joanne, there were a number of organizations that she has been active in,” she said.
Over the years, Humphrey has served on 10-12 community boards, including those at the Mansfield Art Center, Renaissance Theatre, Ohio Bird Sanctuary, Planned Parenthood, and Friendly House.
She particularly enjoys serving on the Friendly House board, where she has been president for nine years. “One of the things I love about Friendly House is they really take care of the kids,” she noted.
A mother of three, Humphrey believes in the importance of being a part of children’s lives and teaching them the value of volunteering. “If you teach the children to care for their community, they in turn will be volunteering and making the community a better place,” she said.
Humphrey also helped found the Women’s Fund of the Richland County Foundation, which was created in 1996 as an endowment to support programs that promote physical, intellectual, emotional, social, cultural, or economic growth of women of all ages.
Humphrey noted, “I think one of the cool things about Mansfield is that it’s really easy to make a difference…whether it’s at one of the food pantries, whether it’s with one of the kids programs, whatever it may be. And it’s exciting because you can see that you’re making a difference.”
Prior to Humphrey’s position as assistant receptionist, Humphrey worked at the Pioneer Performing Arts Academy. She is a lifelong resident of Mansfield and graduated from Malabar High School. After graduation, she attended North Carolina State University and got her bachelor’s degree in business and public relations. She later went to Ashland University, where she earned her teaching certificate.
Humphrey joins many other women who have been named recipients of the JoAnn Dutton Award. Previous recipients include Chris McQuillan, Nancie Cummins, Jo Black, D’ Wisenbarger, Geneva Cummins, Suzanne Davis, Betty Finlayson, Reba Gribben, Lucy Amsbaugh, Suzanne Schamadan, Mary Riedl, Bets Risser, and Pat Bell.
The award was established in 2001 and was named after late JoAnn Dutton, former executive director of the YWCA. According to Teynor, Dutton was an avid volunteer, “and that’s what this award celebrates—women who give back to the community,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful honor and it’s meant to acknowledge women whose primary focus has been volunteer work rather than employment because that was JoAnn’s focus,” said Goldman.
