Community Corner

Schill: A 'Can-Do' Volunteer

The Service Club Council honors its Citizen of the Year and Good Citizen Scholarship winners at a banquet.

Can-do. It's how Dave Schill signs his e-mails. And it’s how he has lived his life.

The Moorestown Service Club Council honored Schill as its 2011 Citizen of the Year at a banquet attended by more than 150 people Wednesday night.

“I’m honored to be here,” said Congressman Jon Runyan (R-3), who presented Schill with a proclamation. “His commitment to his community, his commitment to his church and his commitment to his country—I appreciate everything he’s done. I want to thank him for his service to his country and to his fellow man.”

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Brandon Pugh, who won the Good Citizen Scholarship Award, was also honored.

Schill, a Navy veteran, has been an active member in the Moorestown community for more than 20 years. He has served on the Moorestown Improvement Association as a board member and trustee for 20 years; he served on the Appearance Committee for 10 years and on the Moorestown Historic Preservation through its 18-month tenure. He served on the ArtWalk committee. He helped spearhead the Windows on Main Street fundraiser for the Community House and the Welcome to Moorestown signs. He now chairs the Moorestown Fourth of July parade.

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“The word service is what he is all about,” Schill’s daughter Allison Schill-Eckel said. “Service has defined every decision he has made. He always told me: ‘If you see a problem you don’t complain about it, you fix it.’

“This is the line I cannot say without crying,” she said choking up. “You are my hero and you will always be my hero.”

Brad Kenney, youth director at First United Methodist Church, talked about the impact Schill had on his life.

“This is a little-known fact, but Dave Schill is a superhero,” said Kenney. “A super hero needs a costume, a superhero name and a super power. Dave has all three.”

According to Kenney, Schill’s superhero costume is a pink ball cap he wears on summer mission trips with FUMC. He has several superhero names, including The Schillinator, The Schill Dog and Captain Circular Saw, said Kenney. His superhero power?

“Dave has the ability to make lifelong positive impressions on teenagers,” said Kenney. “He took a cocky, self-centered, arrogant 17-year-old and guided him into a life of service.”

Among Schill’s volunteer efforts are mission trips he leads for the youth at First United Methodist Church. He also has worked with Camden youth building boats and canoes.

Schill received proclamations from the township, Burlington County and the state Legislature acknowledging his service.

“I’d like to thank the Service Club Council for creating the Citizen of the Year Award,” Schill said. “I guess all those free gutter cleanings I’ve given in town have paid off.”

Schill thanked his parents for instilling a sense of service in him. He thanked his wife, Lynne, for "being the best friend I ever had."

Schill left the audience with this advice that he has lived by: “If your going to do something, do it like you mean it.”

Pugh, a senior at Moorestown High School, has accumulated more than 4,000 service hours over the course of his high school career.

“That’s pretty incredible,” said Mayor John Button in presenting Pugh with a township proclamation.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said emcee Joe Gross of Pugh’s service. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s phenomenal.”

As the 2011 Good Citizen award winner, Pugh will receive a scholarship from the Service Club Council.


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