MARYSVILLE – Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring has announced that Troy Van Horn, along with his wife, Vicki, and their children are the recipient of the Marysville Volunteer of the Month Award for November.

Troy, a Pastor with the Venture Church in Marysville, his wife Vicki, and their children Conner, Kyla and Elya, have been involved in the community in a variety of ways. Often, the family’s commitment to service has directly benefited city of Marysville programs and activities, said the Mayor at the Dec. 13 City Council meeting where the family was honored.

Troy was an active, enthusiastic member of the Marysville Community Coalition, a partnership that promotes safety and responding to the needs of the community’s youth. Troy always jumped in to help out, and also importantly, he involved youth members in Coalition meetings and Coalition-sponsored events and outreach activities, Nehring added.

He played a lead role in coordinating annual Clean Sweep and Shred-a-thon activities the past few years, representing Venture Church in partnership with the city, and local business and media sponsors. He is also a past member on the Marysville Strawberry Festival’s Board of Directors.

No city department has benefitted more from the Van Horn family and the church’s support than the Parks and Recreation Department.

Troy’s dedication to youth offerings in free week-long art camps the past two summers has helped Parks and Recreation immeasurably, not to mention the young budding artists and their parents, Nehring said.

The family and church have volunteered each year for the All-Comers Track and Field Meets and Troy has assisted with the annual Easter Egg Hunts hosted by the Parks Department.

Nehring added, At a critical time in the Marysville Healthy Communities project when limited funding was becoming an issue due to the worsening economy, the Venture Church, through Troy’s involvement on a Healthy Communities Subcommittee, stepped in and sponsored three months of open swims free to families.

Troy’s ardent volunteerism is probably best illustrated in a familiar annual parks project, said Parks Maintenance Manager Mike Robinson, who nominated Troy, the Van Horns, and Venture Church. Troy stepped forward last year to help the department with Make a Difference Day, a national day of volunteerism celebrated in Marysville. Faced with budget reductions that would have cut the annual bulb planting program in the city, Troy asked how he could help. He went out and found partners to help support the program financially or with in-kind support such as refreshments for volunteers and event banners, and he also recruited volunteers to plant the bulbs. In 2009, Parks planted 3,000 bulbs at various locations and matched that level of support again this year, even as the economic remained flat.

“We are truly appreciative of Troy Van Horn and his family, and Venture Church,” Nehring said. “The service they are providing is an inspiration to the entire community.”