Kathi Boyle, Dana Kyser and Benjamin Marsh were selected as Jonesville’s 2016 Citizens of the Year and attended a ceremony Tuesday honoring their volunteerism and service.
Jonesville City Manager Jeff Gray said this is the ninth year the Jonesville Citizenship Award Committee, made of three council representatives and two city members, has selected citizens from a pool of nominees. Boyle, Kyser and Marsh were chosen based on their “distinguished and outstanding citizenship in serving Jonesville,” according to the Jonesville website.
Gray said the city invites citizens to nominate individuals around the first of the year.
“People identify their peers who they think show exemplary service and volunteerism,” Gray said. “Those who put forth effort both behind and in front of the scenes.”
Then the committee determines the awardees based on the nominations.
This year, like in the past few years, the committee honored two adults, Boyle and Kyser, and one youth, Marsh.
“I really think it’s great that we have so many in this town that give of their time and their talent,” Gray said. “It’s one of the things that makes Jonesville great.”
Kyser said the award is a very humbling honor. She has been involved in planning Riverfest for more than 15 years, served on the village council for 10 years, the zoning board of appeals for a few years, and the board of reviews for two years. She said her journey of volunteer work all started when her two boys were young and got involved in cub scouts and their troop needed volunteers.
But beyond all this, she said she makes an effort to give blood four or five times a year.
“I’ve donated a few gallons of blood along the way,” Kyser said.
Kyser said if she sees a need, she feels like there’s no reason she shouldn’t meet it. However, she admitted there is such a thing as volunteering too much.
“I enjoy the things I am doing now,” Kyser said. “Once you get in with a good group of people, everybody flows in and gets the job done.”
Boyle said she was astonished and very grateful to win the award. She’s lived in Jonesville her entire life and is now 68 years old.
“I’ve lived here forever and I have watched our community change a great deal over that period of time, and I was just really grateful that the little part that I’ve played is something that is making the community better,” Boyle said.
Her husband won the award last year and she said she was so proud of him and she said it’s amazing to be recognized by the people of the community in which they are working to make it a better place.
“I am really proud of our community and I’m proud to be part of it,” Boyle said.
Kyser joined the village’s first Downtown Development Authority many years ago, but she said she couldn’t recall the date. From there she went to help and support the Sauk Theatre. The coffee shop her church operates, Grounded in Grace, is “close to her heart.” She works there two days a week. The proceeds from the coffee and crepes go directly back to the community.
“Working there made me really value what I could do to help the community service-wise,” Boyle said. “All of a sudden I began to see all of the areas in our community that need a little bit of help.”
To meet those needs in another way, she started a chapter of “100 Women Who Care” where Jonesville ladies attend a 30-minute meeting once every three months, donate $25, and then immediately turn that money over to a local charity.
“I love the whole concept. I just think it is an astounding thing women can do in our community,” Boyle said, adding that she encourages college girls to start a chapter on Hillsdale’s campus.
Ben Marsh, a junior in high school, said a city councilor came in during class to announce he won the award.
“I thought, ‘Wow that’s really cool. I got citizen of the year,’” Marsh said.
Marsh is in his Jonesville Boy Scout troup and just became an Eagle Scout. For his Eagle Scout project he built shelves for the Jonesville Library and helped out around the library. He is also involved in the Youth Foundation in Hillsdale, which raises money, school supplies, and food and donates it back to the community. He also volunteers at his church, Jonesville United Methodist, and is the Vice President of Student Council at Jonesville High School.
With another year of high school before him, he hasn’t pinned down where he wants to attend college, but he said he is interested in pursuing mechanical engineering.
