Pat Chesebro of Northeast Tacoma and Linda Lee of Federal Way have been jointly honored as first recipients of a FUSION Volunteer of the Year award.

The newly inaugurated commendation is named for former Federal Way resident Gerry Storrar, who helped launch the FUSION organization and served as first president of the board of directors incorporated in 2002. She lost a battle to cancer in 2007, but is remembered as one who set a fine example for all volunteers who followed her.

Chesebro and Lee, as housing coordinator and transition team leader respectively, were lauded for exceptional support of the FUSION mission to provide homes and support services to families facing homelessness. They each gave many hundreds of hours of volunteer service last year preparing 14 housing units for occupancy.

Also honored at the December volunteer recognition event were Dave Gantt for help with housing renovations and photography; Betty Jean O’Neal for chairing the summer art event Under the Tuscan Sun, which raised a record $123,000 for FUSION operating funds; and technology chairman Dave Wilson, who supervised launch of a new FUSION website in July.

The efforts of more than 175 FUSION volunteers provide local families fully-furnished places to live while they work toward self sufficiency. FUSION operates 16 homes and condos in Federal Way and Northeast Tacoma.

To become a FUSION (Friends United to Shelter the Indigent, Oppressed and Needy) volunteer helping with housing, fundraising or administrative work, contact Kathy Ward at (253) 952-0157 or volunteers@fusionfederalway.org. For the complete FUSION story, go to Fusionfederalway.org.