FARMINGTON – The United Way of the Tri-Valley area recently awarded the Gary A. LaGrange Community Impact Award to the 2022 recipient, whose nomination noted that she “welcomes new ideas and finds ways for others to grow and flourish.”
Jodie Gunther has been performing acts of service since settling in the Farmington area in 2001. As a member of the Old South church congregation, she saw how the programming available to communities made such a healthy impact and took the opportunity to get involved the moment it opened. Gunther became director of children and youth ministries ten years ago and has been teaching Sunday school ever since.
Gunther’s teaching has largely influenced all of the community service projects she’s worked on, including the Coat and Cupboard, the Pancakery Café, and the Supper Club, which has provided many meals to isolated senior citizens.
“There’s this very strong and important part of being of service to the community…and if we tell kids that, we have to give them opportunities to do that, and it’s been a fun challenge to find ways to help kids serve the community,” Gunther said.
As a former writer and editor for Popular Science magazine, Gunther prefers behind-the-scenes roles and not to be in the spotlight, so the award came as a bit of a shock. She also embodies the humility of a true team player and shares her success with the hard-working individuals on her team.
“When Lisa Laflin called me about this award, my first thought was, well this isn’t really my award, it’s a group of people—it’s all of our award… I have people who help me with all these things, I have parents who bend over backward to help and make sure their kids show up,” Gunther said. “I can’t tell you how many people who have been helpful through the years, and that’s not even counting the kids doing the work…I really don’t think it should have my name on it; I think it should have a long list of names on it.”
Gunther also thanks her patient, supportive husband and stated that none of it would happen without him.
Gunther’s most recent project is an art installation at Old South Church called the Lenten Expressions Project. She describes it as a way for people in the community to explore the season of Lent through a variety of mediums, including paintings, sculptures, readings and performances from many local artists.
