Lions Club President Susan Favorite introducing Nancy Rice and her sister Carol Long. L-R Lion Albie Little, Nancy Rice, Carol Long, Lion Joyce Anthony and Lion Susan Favorite.

The Thurmont Lions Club bestowed a sister-duo its Volunteers of the Year Award for 2021. The award was announced during the April 20, 2021, Town of Thurmont meeting. Carol Long and Nancy Rice, both of Thurmont, were the recipients.

Carol Long was nominated for her tireless volunteer work within the Thurmont Community including service to the Thurmont Senior Center, Weller United Methodist Church, the Thurmont and Emmitsburg Community Show, and the Thurmont Grange. 

With the senior center, Carol serves as secretary on the board of directors. She puts together all the baskets for their raffles; she sells tickets at the center; and helps with bingo and a multitude of unending details.

She makes the grand prize quilt for the senior center’s Christmas raffle. The quilt is nicely wrapped in a clear package with the story of the quilt attached. Carol is chairperson of the senior center’s Christmas Party and runs the event which is held at the Graceham Moravian Church. Since the Christmas Party was not held in December 2020 due to COVID restrictions, she still arranged for one of her committee members to pick up over 52 door prizes which she puts in beautiful baskets or packages. The prizes were delivered to winners directly to their houses. In addition, Carol made thank you cards for all the donors and sent them out.

Carol and her sister Nancy, and Nancy’s granddaughter volunteer their baking talents making treats. They dress up and deliver the treats singing Happy Birthday to the seniors who are registered with the senior center. This has brought much joy to the seniors. Also, she participates in the drive-by parade, greeting people in the community by waving and blowing car horns from June through October.

Every fall, with the exception of fall 2020, Carol sets up the display at the annual Community Show at the Catoctin High School, where the Senior Center has a quilt on display and sells raffle tickets.

During the Senior Center monthly fundraiser at Roy Rogers on the second Thursday evening, Carol sets up and later takes down the signage. Carol’s father-in-law lives next door to her. She provides meals for him. She also helps her husband on their farm.

Since Carol has nothing else to do, she makes homemade cards from photographs with witty poems and sayings for special events or for a Board member or senior that needs a pick-me-up.

Carol retired from the banking industry. She knows so many people from being a former bank employee. She is kind, caring, honest, hard-working, and always has a smile on her face.

Nancy Rice is an individual who does her work in the background, never seeking recognition regardless of how richly she deserves it. Nancy is a director on the Thurmont Senior Center Board. She is known for the apple dumplings she was making for the monthly TSC bake sales—they sold out in minutes—and she was making dozens of them each month. She has been a part of the TSC Troupe that has been doing drive-by birthday greetings to TSC clients reminding them that they are important in a pandemic world where so many of our elderly are alone and isolated.

Nancy has been an amazing supporter of the Thurmont Lions Club although she is not a member. She has contributed countless hours to the TLC projects. She made apple dumplings for the pit sandwich sale in October, donating all her supplies and time. She has helped to paint the Community Tree ornaments, again donating her supplies and time. Most recently, she helped to paint tote bags for the TES and TPS Read-A-Thon winners to carry their winnings home. The tote bags had lions and books and motivational sayings on them, and, once again, she donated her time and supplies to the projects.

Nancy is also a devoted member of her church (Weller United Methodist Church), and in the words of her Pastor Bob Kells, “Nancy has done just about everything a volunteer can do!” She has served as a trustee, helped keep the church facilities up to snuff, sung in the choir, helped lead the singing during worship services, and performed a duet with her sister Carol at Christmas time.

Nancy served for a year as the interim Church Council chair, and Nancy was probably the last Weller member to visit a former member in a nursing home in Westminster before the woman died. Nancy told Pastor Kells how fulfilling that was for the both of them.

Nancy has artistic talents. She has drawn Christmas cards for the church and designed the current logo for the church vision, “The church on the hill with a heart for all.”

Nancy made a coloring book for children for a relative’s church and donated the proceeds from the sale of the books to the church. Nancy hand-painted the signs that sit outside the church at Christmas time. This year, she created a Resurrection scene in wood that sits on our altar.

“Nancy doesn’t reserve her good deeds to just organizations. She has delivered goodies and mowed the yard for a close neighbor who has been ill; she delivers her homemade goodies to lots of people around town. She pitches in wherever she sees a need; she brings light wherever she sees darkness and she spreads joy wherever she can.”

Nancy makes a difference in her quiet way throughout the town of Thurmont. She is one of those people with a servant’s heart.