Tompkins Community Bank honored eight individuals from Central New York with the James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence for their outstanding volunteer service to the community. $13,000 was donated to local charitable organizations from the Legacy Foundation of Tompkins County. The honorees each designated their monetary awards to not-for-profit organizations of their choice.
2022 James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence recipients:
Revered Christina Culver and the volunteers from Loaves and Fishes of Tompkins County
Lisa Krizman of Stablework
John Pascarella for his work in youth sports in Dryden
Michael Perehinec of the Special Olympics New York
Topher Scott for his efforts to found and organize the Racker Rivals Big Red fundraiser
Karel Titus for her lifelong volunteerism primarily in Seneca County
Kristen Wells and the volunteers from Gadabout
“I look forward to these awards every year; this is what being a community bank is about,” said Greg Hartz, president of Tompkins, Central New York. “Tompkins, through the Legacy Foundation, is proud to honor and support the work of this year’s recipients. Their dedication to improving our community through volunteerism, promoting the arts, culture, and education, and simply helping those in need is truly extraordinary. It demonstrates the mission of the Foundation by improving the quality of life for so many in our communities.”
The James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence program was established during the bank’s Sesquicentennial Celebration in 1986 to share its success with community members who have helped to enrich the quality of life in Tompkins County. In 2014, the Awards for Excellence program was renamed the James J. Byrnes Awards for Excellence to honor the retirement of Jim Byrnes, a longtime Ithaca resident and leader of Tompkins Financial Corporation.
The endowment is administered by the Legacy Foundation, a local not-for-profit trust. The vision of the Legacy Foundation, which began in 1945, is committed to improving the quality of life in Tompkins County for those after us. Since 1986, the Awards for Excellence program has recognized more than 280 individuals or groups, with awards totaling more than $386,000.