Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick (left) and Jay Reynolds (right) were honored at the Governor’s Service Awards Ceremony held at the Gem Theatre in Detroit last week.
On Monday, July 23, the Governor’s Service Awards Ceremony was conducted at the Gem Theatre in Detroit honoring Michigan volunteers in eight different categories. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Sosnick was the recipient of the Governor George Romney Lifetime Achievement Award and Jay Reynolds of Birmingham was a finalist for the Mentor of the Year Award.
Sosnick received the award for his commitment to helping vulnerable populations for more than 50 years. Since the 1970s, he has been very active with HAVEN in training volunteers and service providers on how to best support victims of domestic violence through the criminal justice system. He has served on the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention & Treatment Board for 18 years and founded the Oakland County Coordinating Council Against Domestic Violence.
He co-founded the SAVE (Serving Adults who are Vulnerable or Elderly) Task Force as well as co-founded the award winning SMILE program in Oakland County which is an educational program for parents going through divorce. Sosnick was involved in the creation and presided over the Oakland County Juvenile Drug Court OPTIONS program for almost ten years.
Debi Cain, executive director of the Michigan Domestic Violence Prevention & Treatment Board reflected on the evening and stated: “It was such a delight to see Judge Sosnick receive recognition for his many years of selfless commitment to our board and so many others. There is no finer and more generous person than Ed Sosnick.”
Sosnick has been an Oakland County Circuit Court judge since 1989 and will be retiring at the end of 2012 due to age limitations.
Reynolds was nominated for the Mentor of the Year Award for his work with the Oakland County Youth Assistance Mentors Plus program. Reynolds has been a volunteer for the past 11 years and during that time has been matched with six different youth, each of whom have benefited from the guidance and support that he provided. On average, Reynolds spends 2-5 hours per week mentoring and is currently mentoring a 12-year-old boy that he enjoys taking to ball games, the library, and other activities.
In addition, Reynolds continues to stay in touch with his past matches who have aged out of the program and participates in the mentor recruitment and training efforts of Oakland County Mentors Plus. Reynolds also gives back to the community by serving Habitat for Humanity, preparing taxes for low-income families, and walking for Easter Seals.
In response to Reynolds being selected as a finalist for the award, Mary Schusterbauer, chief of Oakland County Youth Assistance stated: “We are thrilled to have such a dedicated volunteer in the Mentors Plus program and we are pleased that Jay could receive public recognition for all he does.”
For additional information on becoming a mentor and to learn more about the Oakland County Youth Assistance Mentors Plus program, call 248-858-0041.
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