RICHMOND, Va., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- They coached Special Olympics athletes, created a soccer program for middle school students, collected food for the homeless and mentored youth in academics, technology or team-building.  

In a variety of selfless ways, 12 Dominion employees in seven states helped others in their communities.  For their efforts and accomplishments, they have been selected as Dominion's Volunteers of the Year for 2009.

"We are extremely proud of our Volunteers of the Year and the honor they bring to their families, their colleagues and the organizations they benefit," said Thomas F. Farrell II, chairman, president and chief executive officer.  "They are shining examples of the spirit of volunteerism we embrace within Dominion."

Since 1986, Dominion has honored more than 250 employees for their community service.  The 2009 winners were selected by a panel of community leaders.

The winners were honored April 20 in Richmond and April 27 in Akron, Ohio.  This year's winners are:

• Gary Abbate of Clarksburg, W.Va., a supervisor in third-party billing. Abbate has been a Special Olympics cross-country ski coach for 29 years and consistently takes several athletes to the International Special Olympics Games.  He is also in his seventh year as assistant coach of the Bridgeport High School Swim Team, which has won the Girls State Championship, several individual and relay state championships and various local and invitational championships.
• Joann Ball of Kitty Hawk, N.C., an administrative assistant. She has been involved in the Outer Banks' March of Dimes Walk for 26 years and has served as Dominion's chair for six years.  She also chairs the Christmas Angel Tree project for her office to help parents give their children holiday presents they would not otherwise have been able to give.
• H. Joyce Briley of Fairfax, Va., an administrative assistant.  Briley is involved in many volunteer activities.  One cause of special interest is the Angel Kisses 5K and 2K Fun Run and Walk to benefit the Jeffrey Virostek Fund, which has raised more than $140,000 to benefit families fighting childhood cancers.
• Peggy Ehora of Lima, Ohio, an external affairs manager.  In Lima, one of the poorest school districts in Ohio, she spearheaded a campaign to build a middle school soccer program.  She led a fundraising program to buy uniforms and offset most of the player fees.  Last fall, more than 60 players participated in the soccer program -- more than in any other middle school sport offered at the school.  Ehora is also president of the Lima City School Board and developed the Lima City Schools Foundation to support the school system's programs.
• Andy Francis, formerly a supervisor at Clover Power Station and now a technical specialist at the Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center under construction. While working in Clover, Va., Francis provided coaching, and frequently the equipment, for youth to take part in a community fishing tournament.  He was also a coach and board president of the Dixie League Baseball Team.
• Mark Hartman of Delmont, Pa., a senior auto mechanic.  Hartman works with an outreach ministry through his church to collect and deliver items such as food, sleeping bags and toiletries to the homeless in Pittsburgh.  The team helps feed more than 100 homeless individuals on a weekly basis.  He also regularly visits inmates in the Indiana County Jail to offer friendship and hope.
• Gwen James of Richmond, forms and procedures analyst.  James volunteers with the Richmond Lunch Buddies mentoring program and Junior Achievement.  She has also volunteered for 13 years on behalf of Highland Springs High School and its football team.  As president of the Highland Springs Touchdown Club, she helped the team raise more than $35,000 for football camp, scholarships and other projects and has been named to serve on a committee for field house and school renovations.
• Pam Kemper of Richmond, director of customer billing and payment services.  She has participated in eight endurance events as a fundraising team member to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 2003.  She has raised more than $30,000 for the organization, and in the 2009 inaugural Augusta Half-Ironman triathlon event, she exceeded her goal by raising more than $6,000.
• Dale Patterson of Kewaunee, Wisc., an electrical maintenance supervisor.  Patterson volunteers as the defensive line coach for Kewaunee High School's football team and as president of the board of directors of the Kewaunee Fitness Center.  He is also a state-certified emergency medical technician and an active member of the Town of West Kewaunee First Responders Organization.  He carries his medical equipment with him in case there is an emergency.
• Elizabeth Peterson of Millstone, Conn., a nuclear design engineer.  Peterson works with female cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, mentors 7th grade girls in Girls in Tech Expo and leads the engineering badge workshop for Girl Scouts.  She is on the advisory committee for Project Lead the Way, a pre-engineering program, and she mentors female engineering students at the University of Connecticut and Three Rivers Community College.  Additionally, she helped initiate the Millstone Health and Wellness Committee at Dominion.
• Christina Rodi of Richmond, energy asset specialist.  As a mentor, she encourages women and minorities to pursue education and careers in technology.  She works with middle and high school students to help them build and program robots for school robotics teams.  Because of her efforts, some inner city students have been the first in their family to attend an institution of higher education.
• Darrell Sullins of Akron, a supervisor in contractor services.  Sullins is a deacon and executive board member of his church, where he is a member of the Boys to Men Ministry.  In 2007, he helped form Parent Partners to work in conjunction with the Beachwood Scholars program at Beachwood Middle School.  The program matches students with positive parental role models for mentoring and tutoring.

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of more than 27,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage systems and serves retail energy customers in 12 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com

> View videos of the 12 winners.

SOURCE Dominion