Longtime volunteers honored for outstanding public service in Lacey

The Lacey City Council recognized several dedicated community members for their contributions to the city through public service at a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18. 

Among the awardees was John Grausam, who served on the Capital Area Regional Public Facilities District board for six years. 

Adam Gonzalez and James Notter, who have volunteered as van drivers for the Lacey Veteran Services Hub since 2017, were also recognized. 

"John has been in our community for a long time. He's been a resident since 1973 and has been engaged with  Lacey on a lot of different things," Mayor Andy Ryder said. 

"We're recognizing him today for his service on the Public Facilities District Board where he's been a member from 2019 to this year, with his term expiring on March 1,” Ryder added. 

Grausam, who received a distinguished public service award, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve the community. 

"It was very enjoyable being on the board, and the board oversees the tax receipts for the help to support the Children's Museum and the sports complex, and those are two just fantastic assets that the community has," Grausam said. 

The city also recognized the invaluable contributions of Adam Gonzalez and James Notter, who have volunteered as van drivers for the Lacey Veteran Services Hub for the past eight years. 

"Adam and Jim have been volunteering as van drivers at the Lacey Veteran Services Hub since 2017. Together, they have helped hundreds of veterans getting to and from their medical appointments for free, door-to-door," said Human Services Coordinator Michelle Chavez.

Chavez emphasized the vital importance of the transportation program for the veteran community.

"The Lacey Veterans Services Hub transportation program is incredibly vital to our community, and we're very grateful for the volunteers and the thousands and thousands of miles that they've driven our veterans to their appointments," Chavez said.

Ryder expressed his deep appreciation for the volunteers' dedication, acknowledging the significant impact their service has had on the lives of local veterans. 

  "The doctor's appointment is so important for so many different reasons, as you know, not only for the health, but ongoing, for benefits and so on, so forth. And so if you miss that meeting, these veterans are missing out on benefits that they've earned and they deserve,” Ryder said. 

“So I just want to say, on behalf of the city council, on behalf of a lot of very, very grateful, grateful veterans, thank you for your time and for what you've done, and your volunteer work at the Lacey Veterans Services Hub.”