See Kent Police chaplain, other community leaders, receive service awards at Sunrise Rotary banquet Nov. 6

Kent Police chaplain Pat Ellis loves his job.

“I’ve been a chaplain for about 10 years for Kent Police and I’ve been with Kent Fire for about six years,” the affable former youth pastor recalled. “It’s very intense sometimes, and very stressful, but I really, really like helping people. It’s a really unique position to be in, to bring that comfort, care and compassion to people in trauma.”

Thanks to the late Kent Police officer Greg Duffin, Ellis had a special opportunity to do even more.

He helped Duffin, who was fighting cancer, in developing what eventually became the nonprofit Cops With Cancer organization. It’s an entity devoted to supporting police officers and their families in coping with the difficulties of cancer.

Through fundraising events, Cops with Cancer helps these officers cover some of the incidental costs that crop up with a cancer fight. “We’re earning funds to help police officers who have to drive back and forth to hospitals; all kinds of expenses,” Ellis said.

While Duffin ultimately lost his fight with kidney cancer in September 2007, Ellis has helped to keep the officer’s dream alive.

“Myself and a couple of people, we decided, ‘let’s run with this,’” Ellis said. “We’ve gotten tremendous response from the community.”

For his efforts to help the police community and to bring the Kent community together to help, Ellis will be the recipient of a Rotary-Sunrise Service Above Self Award.

Along with five other recipients (including one couple), Ellis will receive the honor during the Rotary-Sunrise annual dinner auction 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Kent ShoWare Center.

Mayor Suzette Cooke will present the awards during the ceremony, which will be one of the high points of the evening.

The other recipients of this year’s Service Above Self awards are:

• Local realtor Lance Goodwin, a Kent Sunrise Rotary Club member and chair of the American Cancer Relay for Life in 2009 and 2010;

• Alaska airlines Capt. Bill Westcott, known as the go-to man for Kent Cornucopia Days, Kent Winterfest and Kent Farmers Market, as well as vice-chair for the Green River District of the Boy Scouts and chair for civic-service projects hosted by the Kent Lions;

• Marge and Harry Williams, long-time Kent residents involved for years on multiple Kent projects, including (Harry) president of the chamber of commerce, Scout leader and a member of the Strategic Steering Committee for the Kent School District; and (Marge) founding member of the mayor’s Kent4Health coalition and an administrative assistant at the chamber; and

• Sara Wood, public education specialist for the Kent Police Department, helping to organize Kent’s National Night Out, organizer of the first Community Pride Day Graffiti Paint-out and an active educator of crime prevention.

Learn more

What: Harvest for the Community – Sunrise Rotary’s annual banquet

When: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6

Where: ShoWare Center in Kent

Cost: $65, which includes gourmet meal, champagne toast, elegant desserts (for which tables will compete.)

Ticket availability: At the door