Submitted photo Peter George, left, and Kathy George receive a gift from Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation president Richard Ketcham at the annual meeting reception at the RED House in Cassadaga. The Georges were the 2021 recipient the George B. Weaver Footprints Award.

CASSADAGA — Peter and Kathy George were named recipients of the George B. Weaver Footprints Award at the annual Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation meeting this week.

Peter, who serves as the chairman and president for Citizens for a Better Cassadaga and lakes manager for the Cassadaga Lakes Association, and Kathy, who is the treasurer for the Cassadaga Library, were recognized for their philanthropic work and community service in the village of Cassadaga. These values are what the George B. Weaver Footprints Award was made to recognize.

“George B. Weaver was instrumental in the growth of this foundation,” said Nancy Adams Fry, an executive board member for the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. “His commitment to the community extended well beyond the foundation. He gave money generously and quietly without the desire for recognition.”

In that, NCCF looks for people who follow in those footsteps set by Weaver; this year, both Peter and Kathy George fit that bill. Adams Fry said for winners of the award, they like to look at the metaphoric footprints of the winners and see what shoes they wear.

“When we look closely at those footprints, we see what they’re wearing,” said Adams Fry. “They’re made with painting shoes, driving shoes, farm boots, soft shoes, opera and dance shoes, running shoes, camping shoes, and snow boots. This year’s winners share many of those characteristics. They do a lot of snow shoveling, they do a lot of food presentations as they work in the food pantry, and they do a lot of soft shoe wearing in the library.”

The peer group for Peter and Kathy echoed that they exemplify the beliefs that the Footprints Awards winners exhibit, shown in a video presentation done at the awards ceremony. The video, made by Kranky Plate Productions out of Jamestown, featured comments of a lot of people who know the Georges well.

“They’re so devoted to everything they do,” said Anita Gian, a former school teacher. “Being involved with everything in Cassadaga and the community, they’re just so easy to talk to.”

“Everyone in town knows who they are because of their volunteer work,” added Cassadaga Village Board member Cindy Flaherty. “Cassadaga has really come a long way in the last few years and Peter and Kathy are behind a lot of it.”

Upon looking at the list of nominations and past recipients, the Georges themselves said they felt honored about being selected to be a part of that group.

“We were feeling very humbled when we heard about being selected,” said Peter George. “We looked at who past recipients were and we were incredibly impressed by the group. As Kathy has said many times, we feel like we’ve gotten a lot more back from our volunteering than we’ve put into it.”

The Georges said that they have been lucky enough to find these great organizations to spend their time with, and have made great friends through the process. Following the meeting, a reception was held at the RED House in Cassadaga, where they received their award.

For more information about the NCCF or the Footprints award, visit https://www.nccfoundation.org/