JOHNSTOWN - Don Fleischut's years of service to the community brought him a special reward Saturday night.
Fleischut was the recipient of this year's Quality of Life Award at the annual Fulton County Economic Development Center dinner on Saturday night. The award was accepted by his son Doug and his two grandchildren Henry and Mary.
"Don has pledged not to return until the ice has thawed on Peck Lake," joked Jack Scott.
Doug Fleischut read a statement his father prepared while on vacation with his wife, Cookie. Fleischut wrote that his family has been supportive of every position he has held and that his achievements came from not only his efforts, but from those around him.
He has been on several local boards including Prospect Hill Cemetery, Fulton County YMCA, FMCC's Foundation, the Gloversville Enlarged School District and the Family Counseling Center.
Presenter Ryan Trzaskowski, executive director of Mountain Valley Hospice, said although he now is retired, Fleischut still is employed by the numerous organizations he is involved in.
He currently serves as a Board Member for the Lexington Foundation and has returned to the EDC Board as of January of this year. While service on these Boards represents a sacrifice of his time and energy, and does benefit the community, this award recognizes the contributions that he has made toward the betterment of the quality of life for residents in Fulton County, and in his case, far beyond.
Every Friday afternoon at Sacred Heart Church around 45 people in need are served a hot meal through a program Fleischut got started.
Fleischut is Chairman of both the Friday's Table and Christmas Dinner programs at the Scared Heart church. He recruited the team leaders, defined the concept, gave them the guidance they needed, and funded the whole operation. Today there are eight rotating teams, one for each Friday in a two month period.
Every week, Fleischut goes to Hannaford supermarket and gets bread, fresh vegetables, salad ingredients and dessert. Hannaford donates much of this. He spends a great deal of time insuring the serving and cooking materials needed to prepare and serve the meal are available.
Fleischut has also spent time in Belize, helping to create churches. Fifteen years ago, Sacred Heart Parish developed a sister parish relationship with Our Lady of the Way parish in Belize. Several years ago, the pastor of the parish, the Rev. Oliver Smalls said he would like the team from Gloversville to help convert two buildings in the jungle region into dedicated churches.
Fleischut and his friend John McDonough, last year's award winner for Community Commitment, went to Belize a few months before the work would begin to evaluate the logistics of the task.
Trzaskowski said that while in Belize, Smalls gave Fleischut the room where water from the leaky roof would drop onto his bed. The next morning, he asked the Rev. Smalls about the leaky roof. the Rev. Smalls replied that he only had enough money to repair the leaks over his own bedroom. Fleischut paid for the repairs to the roof out of his own pocket.
After the loss of Mountain Valley Hospice Director Nancy Dowd, Fleischut stepped forward to care for these needs as acting director until the position could be permanently filled.However, Fleischut is still active in the hospice, serving on its board of directors.
