Geoff Greene Community Service Award

Geoff Green Community Service Award

This award was created and named for Geoffrey “Geoff” N. D. Greene – Citrus County’s 12th Property Appraiser (REP), who was elected in 2008 and took office in 2009, but unfortunately died in 2014. This award was created in 2014 to remember and honor those individuals, regardless of their politics, who like Geoff quietly went about doing good in the community behind the scenes.

His philosophy was simple – “get ‘er done” and don’t make a big deal about it. For those who didn’t know him, Geoff was recruited to Citrus County by the Tamposi/Nash organization and Stan Olsen to develop Meadowcrest and bring Black Diamond out of the ground. With an extensive background in real estate and appraisal, he actually began his career as a fire fighter and started one of the first EMS programs in So Florida.

You might find Geoff serving on the board that planned a YMCA here, handing out turkeys at Thanksgiving, serving food to 1st Responders, delivering dog food to the county shelter or carrying around the collection bucket for donations at a local Republican club. While he was a lifelong conservative Republican, he would roll up his sleeves alongside anyone regardless of political affiliation meeting a worthwhile community needs. That’s why this award is a nonpartisan award.

To date, this award has gone to:

  • 2014—Debbie Lattin, Blessings, aka Blessings in a Backpack (providing backpacks of food to children in need).
  • 2015—Barbara Mills for the Welcome Home program for returning Citrus County servicemen and women from deployment.
  • 2016—George Schmalstig of Filter Youth, a unique mentoring program for at-risk youths by riding off-road motorcycles provided by Honda.
  • 2017—Wanda & Randy Moak, Red Dog Farm, having personally provided an adoptive home for over 200 animals from their home.
  • 2018—Pastor Doug Alexander, the new Church Without Walls, a name synonymous with service to those in need. He has served the homeless and veterans especially the hungry through food distributions here in Citrus and beyond.
  • 2019—Jim Stepanek & Vietnam Veterans Gathering, for bringing the scale version of Vietnam Memorial to Citrus County for many years.

Chris Gangler Memorial Steps Scholarship

Chris Gangler Memorial Steps Scholarship

This award was created and named for Chris Gangler who passed away from cancer in 2018. Chris worked for the Citrus County School System and was a familiar face at the College of CF and other campuses (Floral City was special to him). As the Official School System Photographer, he covered many events and is reported to have taken a million photos a year, along with being responsible for video, technology, and social media. What better way to remember Mr. Gangler in perpetuity than to see a young person supported in their future educational pursuits.

Recipient 2019

Devon Watts, Floral City Elementary