"Volunteers aren't paid, not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless."

Eleanor Roosevelt’s famous sentiment was echoed by numerous community and civic leaders who gathered at the Waterford in Springfield Friday, April 27, to celebrate 118 Fairfax County volunteers during the 20th annual Volunteer Service Awards hosted by Volunteer Fairfax.

"When you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in," said Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11), who delivered a short address to the more than 400 guests attending the region’s largest celebration of volunteers.

"Even when the earth shakes us, we stand behind the enduring legacy of service in this community," said Jeanne Sanders, Volunteer Fairfax executive director, who showed a slide of the small bungalow on Page Street in Fairfax that serves as the nonprofit’s headquarters. The building remained standing even after last summer’s magnitude–5.8 quake rattled the region. "Nothing shakes our volunteer spirit," Sanders said.

Established in 1993, the Fairfax County Volunteer Service Awards honors individuals, groups and organizations which have donated time and energy to a broad range of activities and programs.

"Whether they are helping neighbors in need or building communities, volunteers are always finding new ways to continue the legacy of service," Sanders said, adding that this year’s nominees volunteered 205,688 hours of service to the community, equivalent of eight hours a day, five days a week for one year, totaling $4.5 million.

Volunteers were nominated in three categories: a competitive Volunteer Service Award; a Community Champion Award for outstanding community leadership, submitted by each member of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; and a Benchmark Award for volunteers who achieve a certain number of service hours performed in a calendar year.