2023 Citizenship Award
The Geneva Community Projects board of directors established an award to be given annually to a person/persons whom the board feels should be recognized for outstanding service in the Geneva community. The award is called the Kathy Gaylord Costa Citizenship Award, named in honor of one of the original GCP Inc. board members. Kathy Costa enthusiastically joined the Geneva Community Playground Project at its early planning stages in 1991, and when GCP Inc. was formed in 1992, with modest three person board of directors, she was chosen as one of the original three directors. Kathy was a devoted mother of two who, held a job and was active in her children’s school association. Her involvement in the playground project was instrumental to its success. Kathy unexpectedly passed away in 1994 but lives on as an inspiration to those whose lives she touched. The recipients of the Kathy Gaylord Costa Citizenship Award should know it is an honor to be associated with the name of this wonderful person.
GCP is thrilled to recognized Jim and Sue Adams as the 2023 Citizenship Award Honorees. Much like Kathy Gaylord, Jim and Sue had a vision for Geneva, and they worked hard to enact that vision in an inclusive and purposeful way. Some of the GCP members have had the good fortune to have worked along side the Adams through service endeavors including Neighbors Night, Cooking Matters, Yard Sale and dinner fundraisers, and of course the Arts Academy!
Not only have Sue and Jim run a church and a transformative arts academy, for years they have led literally a world-wide effort to give young boys a life-changing experience in their Catskills each summer. With staff recruited from across the globe, the Adams' work at the Lake Delaware Boys Camp has changed the arc of hundreds of young lives. Over the years, these six weeks spent deep in the woods have brought dozens of Geneva boys a structured, independent experience that has changed their lives. Their weekly community dinners have also reached far beyond the traditional church or arts constituents, addressing the root challenges of many families and children.
And although some of us may not have had the opportunity to work closely, like the ripple quote that RFK eloquently speaks to the impact of acts of courage that shape history…we have all felt the significance of their long standing commitment to children in our community…
“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”It’s fitting that Jim and Sue Adams were selected as the 2023 Citizenship Award, as the Adams were close friends with Kathy Gaylord. When they learned they had been selected for an honor in her name, Sue wrote “you have made our day for sure and also brought some tears. You probably are not aware but Kathy was a dear friend of mine. When I was President of the North Street Home & School Association, she agreed to be vice-president. We had so much fun together and made strides supporting North Street teachers as well as building the first non-wooden playground that definitely held up over the years. My other dear friend, Jeri Nyrop and I were crushed when Kathy passed and we volunteered to create a buffet for her memorial service which was held at the Presbyterian Church. So many folks flooded in the doors that day. It was truly an honor to be involved in some way.”
The honor is ours to toast you both in your upcoming retirements, January for Sue and June for Jim. You both have fostered a wide network of compassion and kindness and we celebrate you!
Written By Kathleen Flowers