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But they say the feeling of helping others outstrips the awards they've received for their efforts.
By JULIANNE WU
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2000
Gene and Pat Harris of Largo have spent their lives volunteering to help others.
They wouldn't have it any other way.
"I can't remember a time when we didn't volunteer . . . even growing up," said Mrs. Harris, 73. "Both Gene's folks and my folks volunteered all of their life. It was a natural thing for us to continue."
Their friend and former neighbor, Ann Marie Paradis of Seminole, feels the same way. So it should come as no surprise that the three active volunteers are among 10 statewide winners of the Spirit of the Americans With Disabilities Act awards. The Harrises are perhaps best known for their work with Horses and the Handicapped in Seminole, which Harris, 72, founded 19 years ago. Each Saturday when school is in session, about 40 riders with varying disabilities ranging from 8 years old to middle age, are helped by more than 50 volunteers from the eight Kiwanis clubs.
Paradis, 62, a retired nurse, was honored primarily for serving for more than 25 years as the Pinellas director of a toy shop operated by the Department of Children and Families in conjunction with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's annual Toys for Tots program -- where the Harrises also volunteer.
Like her friends, Paradis remembers volunteering very early in her life. "I spent about 20 years in the Girl Scouts, first as a scout myself and then as a leader when my daughters were growing up," she said.
The Harrises and Paradis received the award at a Tallahassee banquet last month.
"I had no idea I won anything until I was seated at the banquet," said Paradis . "I thought I was there to support Gene and Pat."
The Harrises only learned about their awards the week before the event. "We were surprised, to say the least," Harris said. "We've never been much on blowing our own horn. A simple "thank-you' now and then will do."
The awards were presented in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
"All three of them are fantastic," said Christel Vinson, who accompanied the Harrises and Paradis to the presentation in Tallahassee. "They have truly been the backbone of the toy shop."
Vinson is the community resource coordinator for the Pinellas County unit of the Department of Children and Families. Harris, a retired stockbroker, moved to Pinellas County as a child. Mrs. Harris was born in St. Petersburg and retired from Barnett Bank. The couple will celebrate their 51st wedding anniversary Aug. 14.
Harris also is chairman of a statewide Kiwanis charity project, and he is on the board of the Largo-based Religious Community Services.
In addition, the Harrises spend about 10 hours a week during the school year on Kiwanis-sponsored K-Kids programs at Seminole, Bauder, Oakhurst and Ridgecrest Elementary Schools. And they volunteer three days a week -- or about 600 hours a year each -- delivering medical supplies for The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast.
"Volunteering makes you feel good," Mrs. Harris said.
Although the Harrises also spend dozens of hours each winter picking up and delivering toys to the toy shop, Paradis works on the project throughout the year. A good deal of that time is spent on the telephone.
Last year, she got the Letter Carriers' Union, Branch 1477, to donate its union hall for the toy shop. But the union sold its building, and she's looking for a location for this winter's event.
"I need to find something free and about half the size of a football stadium. Any ideas?" she asked.
"Just give me a building, a telephone and a Dumpster. My volunteers and I will do the rest," she said. She has about 200 volunteers, many of them single mothers who live with their children at Pinellas Village.
Paradis, a Boston native, has received many awards over the years, including the Merit Award by the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce in 1978-79 and Volunteer of the Year by the Pinellas unit of Children and Families in 1999. She was also named Volunteer of the Month in January 2000 by the department.
"But winning awards is not why I volunteer," said Paradis. "My greatest love in the world is kids . . . anybody's kids. In the Toys for Tots program, we want to provide something for kids who fall between the cracks. And that includes teenagers who are sometimes forgotten completely."
Paradis said she gave up counting her volunteer hours long ago.
"I believe an individual has to give back to the community," she said. "And rather than awards, just give me hugs. I like to get and receive hugs."
Call Gene or Pat Harris, (727) 539-0455, for information on Horses and the Handicapped; Ann Marie Paradis, (727) 397-5732 for information on Toys for Tots or the toy shop, and Christel Vinson at the Department of Children and Families, (727) 588-3728, for information on other seasonal volunteer opportunities.