Cincinnati Rotary Announces Jefferson Award Winners

Bob Herzog of Local 12 acted as emcee for the ceremony at The Rotary Club of Cincinnati’s luncheon on March 3, 2016.

The Rotary Club of Cincinnati whose motto is “Service Above Self” announced the winner for its prestigious Jefferson Award at their meeting held at the Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza hotel in downtown Cincinnati:

Christine Neitzke and Ria Davidson, The Dragonfly Foundation.

These best friends started the Dragonfly Foundation in 2010 to bring comfort and joy to kids and young adults enduring cancer and bone marrow transplants.  They have 12 programs and a 6000 square foot clubhouse for their Dragonflies and host about five events each week for families.

“The foundation has touched our patients and families with visiting celebrities, and purchases of laptops, field trips, entertainment and sports event tickets and family support packets. The list is extraordinary for such a new organization and the Dragonfly Foundation always comes through for our families,” said Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Director of Oncology.

Neitzke and Davidson will travel to Washington, D.C. to represent the City of Cincinnati at the American Institute of Public Service’s national awards banquet in June.

As part of the ceremonies, Dr. Kimberly Koss, Koss National Triple Negative Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Suzy DeYoung, LaSoup were also honored as finalists for the award.  All of the finalist videos were produced by Local 12 and narrated by Bob Herzog.

Dr. Kimberly Koss finalist video:

Suzy DeYoung finalist video:

The Rotary Club of Cincinnati partners with The Cincinnati Enquirer, Local 12, and AIPS (American Institute of Public Service) to find and honor individuals in the community who go above and beyond the call of duty in their volunteer efforts in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The Jefferson Award, recognized as the Nobel Prize for public service, was created in 1972 by Cincinnati’s own U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Sam Beard, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and is presented annually to recipients in more than 90 cities in the United States.