Sertoma Club honors long-time volunteers | News, Sports, Jobs

Ben Pifher/MDN Rick Halbert holds a check from the Minot Sertoma Club. Halbert requested that the club make the check payable to the Bishop Ryan Scholarship Fund rather than to him.

Rick Halbert and Charles Guseman received the Sertoma Club’s Service to Mankind award on Monday. The award is given to those who have gone above and beyond in service to Minot.

Halbert and Guseman have been volunteering for the Sertoma Club’s Christmas in the Park event on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve for 27 years.

According to Gowan, this is the first time the award has been given in five years.

The group “I wanted to honor these two men who have dedicated so much time to our club and our community and refused to accept anything in return,” Bryan Obenchain, a member of the club, said Guseman was unable to attend the awards ceremony.

Halbert said he has been volunteering during the holiday season since 1996 and has only missed Christmas Day at Christmas in the Park once.

“The most important thing is that I have been in Minot since 1977 and it is fun to see people I have not seen in a long time,” he said.

“Christmas in the Park” is one of the Sertoma Club’s largest fundraisers.

Dave Gowan, the chapter’s president, said last year’s event raised $75,000. The club also sponsors various sporting events and facilities in the city. Gowan said it has even purchased animals for the zoo.

Halbert’s wife, JoEllen, who helps her husband and Guseman at the stand from time to time, brings them food every year. She said: “Getting to know the kids and dogs is the most fun.” Halbert shook his head in agreement and talked about how some people come to the lights with their families every night throughout the season. Some know the Halberts as Mr. and Mrs. Claus when they are seen at the event.

“I am honored,” Halbert said about receiving the award. “It’s one of those things where you do the right thing and someone takes the time to honor you.”

Speaking about how he deserved the award, he said: “It’s more about being yourself. We did it. It was the right thing to do and people enjoyed it. It was a great feeling.”

Both Halberts spoke of pay-it-forward chains in the park. Admission to the lights is $5 and sometimes cars will give a $20 or $50 bill to pay for themselves and the cars behind them.

“Sometimes the extra money lasts for a long time, because the cars that have been paid for pay for themselves anyway, and it keeps going. It’s really fun to see how generous people are,” Said JoEllen Halbert.

The Sertoma Club was founded in 1912 and established its Minot branch in 1959. The Minot Club has about 50 members who call themselves community leaders.