Pillar of the Community
Godshall named 2017 recipient; celebration to be held Sept. 28 at North Penn Commons
LANSDALE » This year’s Greater Harleysville and North Penn Senior Services Pillar of the Community honoree is state Rep. Bob Godshall, R-53.
“We thought that Rep. Godshall was a perfect choice for us,” said GHNPSS Executive Director Sarah Whetstone, “because of his great legacy of serving older adults in the commonwealth and the community.”
Godshall was instrumental in helping get a $1.5 million state RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program) grant for the PEAK Center and North Penn Commons, which PEAK moved into a little less than a year ago, she said.
“He’s been a good friend to the Greater Harleysville and North Penn Senior Services and to the community for years and we figured it was time to honor him,” Whetstone said, describing Godshall as a servant leader.
Godshall, who has been a state representative since 1982, previously served on the Souderton Area School Board and as Montgomery County comptroller, according to biographical information.
He is chairman of the House Consumer Affairs Committee and a former member of the House Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, which he chaired during the development of the National Constitution Center.
He is also a longtime member of the Hatfield, Indian Valley and North Penn chambers of commerce; past president and former board member of the Perkiomen Valley Watershed Conservancy, where he worked on development of the Montgomery County park system along the Perkiomen Creek; and has served on the boards of trustees of the National Constitution Center, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau; the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, the Harleysville Senior Adult Activity Center and the American Red Cross (North Penn branch) and as a member of the Indian Valley Public Library Steering Committee.
Raised on the family farm in Franconia, Godshall later helped run the family’s poultry business.
This year’s GHNPSS Pillar of the Community celebration event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at North Penn Commons, 606 E. Main St., Lansdale.
“All proceeds from the event support GHNPSS which operates the PEAK Center in Lansdale and Encore Experiences in Harleysville. GHNPSS provides valuable programs, services and resources for adults over 55 and the disabled,” GHNPSS said in a release.
“Both facilities provide senior citizens access to programs and resources including nutritious lunches, financial and legal advice, tax assistance, health and wellness classes, consumer education, computer classes, and many other services and benefits,” GHNPSS said.
Tickets to the Pillar to the Community event, which includes a cocktail reception, a silent auction, entertainment and dinner, are $110 per person. There are also VIP tickets, including reception access with Godshall, for $200 per person. Tickets are available until Sept. 20 and can be purchased by contacting Whetstone by email at swhetstone@ghnpss.org or by calling her at 215-3627432. Sponsorships are also available.
This is the first year the GHNPSS Pillar of the Community event will be held at North Penn Commons.
“We’re absolutely thrilled and thought it would be most appropriate to celebrate him [Godshall] right in the space that he helped create,” Whetstone said.
Past Pillar awardees include Regina and (the late) Benny Alderfer, Ed Molnar, Sanford A. Alderfer, Bob Henning, Philip A. Clemens, Harold F. Detwiler, William S. Aichele, Mark and Karen Cummins, Ella Roush, Jack Clemens, K. Leon Moyer and Syed Afzal, GHNPSS said.
Whetstone said GHNPSS is thankful for the generosity of the community in its support of both Godshall and the work done by GHNPSS.