For the most significant demonstration nationally of commitment to “the Vision” of the Catch-A-Dream Foundation through contribution of time, energy and talents toward fulfilling and perpetuating the mission of the Program.
2017 Recipient: Gordon Jones
Gordon Jones was born and grew up in Valley Head, AL, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. After college, Gordon worked 16 years for the FDIC in both Tampa, FL and Atlanta, Georgia. In 1988 he moved back home to Valley Head and began a career with The Citizens Bank, where he now serves as Chairman and CEO.
Gordon has served as a volunteer Host for the Catch-A-Dream Foundation since 2009. In those nine years Gordon has Hosted 16 child trip experiences to destinations in 8 different states, ranging literally from Florida to Alaska. The role of Volunteer Host can be very demanding. On any given trip, a Volunteer Host can expect to play as many as nine different roles in order to help ensure the success of a child’s hunting or fishing experience. On many occasions, Gordon has simultaneously fulfilled many of these 9 roles and, more than once, handled unexpected situations that would have otherwise hindered the success of the trip, yet he handled them with the utmost patience and professionalism. From delayed or cancelled flights and rental cars, to comforting an emotionally fatigued family, Gordon met these challenges in ways that made it seem as if no challenge was present at all. Gordon is himself a cancer survivor, which gives him a better perspective into the life experiences these children and their families deal with daily. He is always willing to make room in his busy schedule to answer the “call” to serve wherever he is needed, and often multiple times each year. Given that these are 4- to 5-day round trips that can be both physically and emotionally taxing, being able to serve more than once a year is a feat met by few people. When not volunteering with Catch-A-Dream, Gordon also lends his time and talents to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America.
Gordon embodies the true nature of a servant; one who willingly and selflessly stands “at the ready” to go where he is needed. For his relentless efforts and tireless demonstration of the volunteer spirit, and for his impact on the Program and upon countless lives, we proudly present the twelfth annual Catch-A-Dream Foundation Volunteer of the Year Award to Mr. Gordon Jones.
