2002 William Allen Award Winners
Mechanic brings building skills to help women
Gary Liljenberg, a Machinist Maintenance Mechanic Specialist working for equipment services in Auburn, is the Northwest winner of the William Allen Award. The humanitarian award is the top honor for employee volunteerism at The Boeing Company, and the only companywide, non-job-related award for individual achievement.
Most of Gary's volunteer time is given to Healing Hearts Ministry, a non-profit organization that offers help and hope to women in crisis. He donates about 400 hours a year, most of it spent in construction. His carpentry skills have been put to good use, refurbishing housing used by the women served by Healing Hearts.
The facility was built from two old donated construction site trailers. Gary and a few other volunteers turned these trailers into a beautifully renovated building with three bedrooms and a large training room. Gary was responsible for everything from preparing the site and arranging transport of the trailers to the final remodeling touches.
Gary has also raised several thousand dollars in pledges for Healing Hearts, participating in the annual fundraiser, a 100-hole one-day golf marathon.
Gary's work makes it possible for the women, who often have nowhere else to go, to get a fresh start in life in dignified, attractive surroundings.
His quiet determination was noted by a fellow Boeing volunteer Dan DeVries who went with Gary to build an orphanage in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. "Gary was invaluable," he said, "working tirelessly on the most difficult aspects of the project until it was completed." DeVries, who nominated Gary for the award said, "Gary has been an inspiration to me and has been my role model in volunteering my own time to my community."