Montgomery Serves Awards 2020

Congratulations to the 2020 Montgomery Serves Awards honorees. These individuals, businesses, and groups have demonstrated remarkable commitment to service and volunteerism in our community, earning them Montgomery County's highest recognition for their contributions.

Roscoe R. Nix Distinguished Community Service Award 

Honoring extraordinary contributions to the quality of our community
 

Winston AndersonJenny Sue Dunner 

Jenny Sue Dunner has worked tirelessly for the past 40 years to promote the quality of life for citizens in Montgomery County.

Raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, Jenny Sue moved to Washington, D.C., after graduating from Northwestern University.  She, her late husband Don, and their two daughters settled in Montgomery County over 50 years ago. 


In 1971, when the Citizens Coordinating Committee on Friendship Heights was formed, Jenny Sue became a delegate representing the Kenwood Citizens Association. At this time, Montgomery County was growing and the first Metro station in Friendship Heights was being built; Friendship Heights was soon to become the first central business district in Montgomery County.  

This experience sparked her interest in land use and planning issues. County Executive Charles Gilchrist appointed her to the first Bethesda-Chevy Chase Advisory Board.  In the mid-1980s, the Department of Transportation appointed her to the Georgetown Branch Corridor Advisory Board to represent all of the communities west of Wisconsin Avenue. Jenny Sue also was appointed by the Montgomery County Planning Board to serve on the 1982 Westbard Sector Plan Advisory Committee; nearly 40 years later, she remains actively involved in the planning and development of Westbard. 

As her interest in local politics grew, she worked with a bipartisan group, Voters For Representative Government, to gather petitions to change the Montgomery County Charter and revise the way the county voted to elect the County Council, which ultimately would comprise four at-large and five district representatives.  As a result of her work, in 1987, she and Dennis Lavallee received the Journal Cup, an award presented by the Montgomery County Journal.

In the mid-80’s, Jenny Sue founded CITPAC, a Montgomery County bi-partisan political action committee of citizens, giving residents a stronger voice in county elections. More recently, she formed the District 1 Community Caucus, a citizen activist group that shares information on issues, frequently meeting with elected officials to discuss various topics. 

Neal Potter Plaza, located next to the Capital Crescent Trail near River Road in Bethesda, is an actual physical representation of Jenny Sue’s commitment to her community.  Through her fundraising efforts as a board member of the Capital Crescent Trail, she worked tirelessly to solicit contributions from private sources to help fund the cost of this public amenity. 
 

See all of this year's honorees

 

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