Gwen Tolbart, veteran weather anchor and reporter for Fox Channel 5 in Washington, D.C., got her TV start in her hometown of Montreal with the Black Community Communications Media’s news program Black Is.
Tolbart, now an Emmy Award-winning weather anchor and reporter for Fox Channel 5 (WTTG Fox5) in Washington, D.C., was awarded President Obama’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her community service in July.
“It is both exciting and humbling to be honoured by President Obama,” says Tolbart.
To be eligible for this award, she had to complete upwards of 4,000 hours of community service — and Tolbart made each one count. The bulk of her volunteerism was dedicated to Our House, a non-profit program that provides a home, job training and counselling to at-risk young men in Olney, Md., 30 kilometres north of Washington.
“I’ve volunteered with adolescent girls, homeless women, children with illnesses and with the abandoned, abused, homeless or otherwise disadvantaged male youth of Our House,” Tolbart says.
When she became involved, the organization was struggling to find funds to rebuild its facilities, which at the time were a cinder-block garage and a renovated hen house. Things have since turned around, in large part thanks to Tolbart’s fundraising initiatives.
“Ten years later, I am proudest of the fact that I brought Our House national and international exposure and that there now stands a brand new building serving as a dorm, classroom and recreational facility on its grounds,” she says.
Tolbart has garnered many distinctions during her career in addition to the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award, including recognition from the National Association of Black Journalists, Associated Press, Governor of Texas, United States Congress and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The Lifetime Achievement Award Certificate for Community Service is the highest level of the President’s Volunteer Service Awards and includes a letter from Barack Obama, a signed certificate and a presidential seal lapel pin.