Honored for five decades of service to community
Nashville, TN – Longtime community volunteer Patricia Kyger was honored with the Spirit of Service Award on Wednesday, October 23, during the 2013 Celebration of Mission to Service.
The Celebration, supporting the work of Catholic Charities of Tennessee and Saint Mary Villa Child Development Center, was held at Hillwood Country Club with 175 in attendance.
“The Spirit of Service Award is presented to someone who has been a significant contributor to the well-being of the clients served by Catholic Charities and Saint Mary Villa and who reflects the agencies’ values of love, goodwill, kindness, learning and laughter,” said Diane Mulloy, co-chair of the event with Ann Waddey.
“Patricia Kyger personifies all of these values,” confirmed Waddey. “The Spirit of Service Award recognized her volunteer service to Catholic Charities and Saint Mary Villa and to many other Nashville charitable and nonprofit organizations.”
“Patricia has been deeply involved with the leadership and growth of both agencies over the years,” noted Bill Sinclair, executive director of Catholic Charities. “Untold lives in the community have been positively impacted because of her service.”
“Patricia is remarkable in so many ways,” noted Mike Miller, executive director of Saint Mary Villa. “She always brought insight, faith, and boundless energy to every project in which she was involved. Her enthusiasm inspires others to serve. Saint Mary Villa, Catholic Charities and many other groups are grateful for her service over the years.”
A Nashville native, Patricia Kyger and her husband, Kent, a local physician specializing in psychiatry, are well known for their community work. In addition to board service with both event beneficiaries, she also has served on boards for several area Catholic schools, House of Mercy, St. Thomas Hospital Foundation, and the Catholic Foundation of Tennessee. Patricia was chair of the former Celebration of Charity and Service gala for many years. She and her husband have four daughters and seven grandchildren.
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About Catholic Charities of Tennessee: Catholic Charities of Tennessee, established in 1962, had 70,000+ service connections last year with residents of 38 Middle Tennessee counties. Operating on behalf of the Diocese of Nashville and its congregants, major areas of community involvement include refugee & immigrant services, adoptions & parental support, counseling, senior services, education & job training, and basic needs (including feeding, housing and clothing assistance). ~ The agency is a licensed child placement agency of the State of Tennessee and certified as an Adult Day Care provider. Its adoption program is Hague Accredited. Services are available to people of every religious, ethnic, cultural and racial background. The Tennessee Office for Refugees is a department of Catholic Charities of Tennessee. For more information, visit www.cctenn.org or www.facebook.com/CatholicCharitiesofTN.
About Saint Mary Villa Child Development Center: St Mary Villa Child Development Center is an educational child care provider with fees set on a sliding scale according to family income. Our program operates in a setting as diverse as Middle Tennessee where we value love, learning and laughter for every child every day. St Mary Villa serves children from infancy (at 6 weeks) to pre-kindergarten age (5 years) in developmentally appropriate classes. For more information, visit www.stmaryvilla.org or www.facebook.com/StMaryVillaCDC.