Four BP Volunteers Recognized for Their Above and Beyond Work

Volunteer Appreciation Dinner 2023 presenters and honorees

This past April 14, Bainbridge Prepares held its annual Volunteer Appreciation dinner at the Manor House. During the evening, four of BP's more than 700 volunteers were given special recognition.

Bainbridge Island Fire Chief Jared Moravec opened the evening with a general thank you to all volunteers present. BP Executive Director Loren Bast recognized the Team Leads for their leadership. City of Bainbridge Island Emergency Coordinator Anne LeSage thanked all organizational partners, including the BI Parks District, the BI School District, Island Volunteer Caregivers, and the owners of the locations that serve as emergency hubs. Bainbridge Prepares founder Scott James expressed appreciation for the senior leadership team of BP. Finally, BP Program Director Tyler Heinemann led a round of BP-based trivia.

Throughout the evening, the four volunteers who received special recognition were

• Maradel Gale for having given the most volunteer hours of all 700 BP volunteers over the past year.

• Raj Bais, DNP, ARNP, who serves as the Co-Lead of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).

• Alice Ostdiek, who serves as Co-Lead of the Disaster Hubs team.

• Victor Cheng, who serves as leader of the Community Emergency Response (CERT) team.

James referred to the four volunteers' "over-the-top work on their teams this year." He added, "We had extra heavy lifts for MRC, Hubs, and CERT this year."

Featured photo shows, from left to right, Jared Moravec, Raj Bais, Loren Bast, Anne LeSage, Alice Ostdiek, Scott James, Maradel Gale, Victor Cheng, and Tyler Heinemann.