National Epilepsy Foundation

Oklahoma City volunteer, POW to receive national award

Woods should know.

The 87-year-old Oklahoma City man has spent most of his life helping others, whether through military service to his country or through decades of volunteerism. None of it, he said Wednesday, was motivated by a desire for attention.

He's getting some, anyway.

Woods will be honored Friday as one of three top winners in the 2011 MetLife Foundation “Older Volunteers Enrich America” awards. The honor includes a trip to Washington for a reception and awards luncheon and a $2,500 prize for the nominating agency — in this case the Epilepsy Foundation of Oklahoma .

In the early 1980s, Woods was one of the founders of the epilepsy group. He is a past president of its board and currently serves as secretary.

“His volunteer services to the organization, and to epileptics, are numerous,” Ramona Hannah , a volunteer and past president herself, wrote in her nomination letter. “For many years, until his need for a walker made it impossible for him to move up and down wooded hills, he was a volunteer leader and counselor for the ... annual weeklong camp for epileptics.

“Over the years, he has worked on its fundraising and other events, either as a leader or a worker.”

Indeed, Woods' results-oriented approach to charity has led him to do whatever is necessary to get jobs done.

“He does the minutes,” Hannah said Wednesday. “He does the administration. But he gets out there and sweats, too.”

Living legacy

By Woods' reckoning, Friday's award will be the first national honor he's earned.

Others might see it differently. In 1993, he made his first free trip to D.C. to receive the Jefferson Award for Public Service; one person from each state was honored.

In 2005, he was named the nation's “most outstanding” former prisoner of war, based upon public service and service to veterans.

“You don't volunteer to win an award,” Woods said. “Sometimes because you worked at it and stayed with it, an award comes along. ... You appreciate any recognition, but that's not why you do it.

Vice President Development (Landover, Maryland)

Epilepsy Foundation National Office seeks a VP Development responsible for the formulation of short- and long-range goals, objectives, strategies, plans, reports and budget for development department functions and activities. Responsible for meeting fund raising goals established for the department including such areas as corporate giving, direct mail, major gifts, planned giving, and strategic alliances. The Epilepsy Foundation of America® is the national voluntary agency dedicated solely to the welfare of the almost 3 million people with epilepsy in the U.S. and their families. The organization works to ensure that people with seizures are able to participate in all life experiences; to improve how people with epilepsy are perceived, accepted and valued in society; and to promote research for a cure. In addition to programs conducted at the national level, epilepsy clients throughout the United States are served by more than 50 Epilepsy Foundation affiliates around the country. In a buyers' market, simply being a talented candidate is often times not enough to land a senior leadership role, so job seekers need to get out and sell themselves to prospective nonprofit employers. The idea of coming up with a personal marketing plan may be intimidating, but the six steps laid out in this article will help nonprofit job seekers put their best foot forward during a nonprofit job search.

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