Ted & Rene Prina and family were chosen as ACF Volunteers of the Year
Secret Soldiers chosen as Nonprofit of the Year
By Jon Johnson
THATCHER – Speaker after speaker, everyone had a Ted and Rene Prina story. On a day that honored multiple nonprofit organizations, the years of service Ted and Renee Prina have given to the community through numerous organizations was highlighted as the Prina family was bestowed the Arizona Community Foundation’s Ed and Angie Sawyer Volunteer of the Year Award for Graham County. The ceremony took place Tuesday at Eastern Arizona College’s Gherald L. Hoopes Jr. Activities Center.
Longtime volunteer activist Dennis Sawyer started the award and endowment in remembrance of Ed and Angie Sawyer’s years of volunteerism.
Those on hand for the event included Neil Karnes – Chair, ACF of the Gila Valley, Colleen Iuliucci – Southeast Regional Director, ACF, and Laurie Smith – Vice Chair, ACF of the Gila Valley.
Among his volunteer positions, including with organizations like the Safford Lions Club, Ted served for nearly 30 years on the ACF of the Gila Valley’s advisory board and established the Prina Family scholarship to assist area students. Since its inception in 2015, the endowment has benefitted more than 65 local students and has awarded roughly $700,000 in scholarships, while still increasing in value by 45 percent.
The very first recipient of the scholarship – Erin Hackett in 2015 – is currently in a doctoral program for a career in physical therapy and wrote a letter of appreciation read at the presentation by Laurie Smith.
“I always intended to seek some level of higher education after high school because I love learning and wanted to work in healthcare,” Smith read from Hackett’s letter. “Last month marked one year since I started my doctoral-level program in physical therapy. As I think about my educational journey and how I got here, I realize that I didn’t do it alone. As a recipient of the Prina Family Scholarship, it meant that the stress of finances during college was reduced significantly. Ted Prina and his family scholarship saw enough in me to invest in my education and relieved me of one of the biggest stressors in this pursuit, opening the door for me to focus on my education. To say I’m grateful for this gift is insufficient to express my gratitude for how it has truly blessed my life. It has motivated me to pursue my education so that one day I can use it to give back, serve, and help others, just like this scholarship did for me.”
Ted also served on the board of the Graham Greenlee Tax Credit Coalition and helped bring awareness through articles and ad spots in the Gila Herald. The coalition’s efforts have brought hundreds of thousands of dollars to local nonprofits.
Laurie Smith gave a brief overview of some of the Prina family’s philanthropic efforts and said they have had their hands assisting many in the Gila Valley.
“If someone in your family has ever received services through one of our non-profits – Meals-on-Wheels, children’s reading hour at the library, kinder camp, food boxes at Our Neighbor’s Pantry, kids’ dental checkups, a college scholarship, animal spay and neuter services, and dozens of other services that Ted Prina had probably had done something to do with it,” she said.
Ted and Rene began a new adventure this year after selling their home in Central and most of their possessions and are traveling the country and world. The new path has led Ted to have to resign from his volunteer positions locally, and the annual award felt like a lifetime achievement award as well and it seemed every speaker had a story to tell about Ted and Rene.
“I’m humbled,” Ted Prina said upon receiving a plaque for volunteer of the year from lifelong friend Don Smith. “I feel there are many more people in this community who have done a lot more than I have. But at the same time, I appreciate the recognition.”
Ted also gave credit to his wife, Rene, for her ever-lasting support and her wonderful cooking.
“Behind every good man is what?” Ted asked. “A good woman. You know, if you can live with somebody for 10,000 miles in 85 days in a motorhome then you gotta think that she’s a pretty good lady. Plus, she cooks really well and she’s supported everything that we’ve done as a family. So, it’s always been a team effort.”
Graham County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Howard (R-District 2) presented the grant awards to the nonprofits who received them this year and also spoke about Ted and Rene Prina.
“They are the most genuine friends any person could have,” Howard said.
Nonprofit of the Year: Secret Soldiers
In addition to the Prina family award, the ACF of the Gila Valley handed out seven grant awards and selected the nonprofit of the year, which went to Nicole Bratlee, the president and founder of the Secret Soldiers organization that assembles care packages for military service members deployed overseas. Bratlee said she is a veteran herself and knows how it felt to not have such amenities.
“I like to bring the whole community together and do car (and) bike shows and have fun have fun to realize that we all have a love of something. But my love is actually for our military. I’m a vet myself, and I know what it’s like not to receive a care package or a letter. And these kids have cell phones now . . . So, what I do, I have these events to raise money to purchase items like hygiene, candy, laundry detergent, just to go in these care packages overseas to our military vets deployed overseas to remind them that they do matter.”(sic)
Grant recipients included:
Fort Thomas Unified School District: Received $6,250 for the Apache Language Preservation Project.
Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona: Received $5,000 for the Keeping Families Together Project.
Suns Sounds Foundation: Received $2,400 for the Gila Valley Disability Project.
Graham County Substance Abuse Coalition: Received $8,000 for the Youth Striving for a Healthier Lifestyle Project.
Southeastern Arizona Community Unique Services (SEACUS): Received $5,000 for the Senior Center Project.
ToothBUDDS: Received $5,000 in funding.
Gila Valley Arts Council: Received $5,000 in funding.
Borderlands in collaboration with the Safford Lions Club: Received $7,750 for its monthly POWWOW of produce.
Desert Cat Rescue: Received $3,000 to offer discount spay and neuter vouchers for the community.
