Wright, Feldes receive top Senior Volunteer Awards

'Without volunteers, many efforts just would not succeed,' says honoree S.P. (Paul) Wright.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
Two area men, S.P. (Paul) Wright of Brookfield and Tony Feldes of Youngstown, earned two of the top four honors at Medical Mutual's 2005 Outstanding Senior Volunteer Awards ceremony.
Wright received the top Platinum Award for his service to the Girard-Liberty Rotary Club.
Feldes received the third place Silver Award for his "Tribute to Fallen Black Youngstown Civil War Veterans," getting a black Civil War veteran's name placed on the Youngstown Civil War Memorial.
'Poorest of the Poor' project earns honors for Wright
In nominating Wright, an educator for 35 years, the Girard-Liberty Rotary Club wrote:
"Sixteen years ago, Wright began coordinating 'Poorest of the Poor,' a project which has since collected millions of pounds of clothing, medical equipment, toys, dry goods, and toiletries for distribution around the world, including many places in our own country.
"Under Wright's direction, goods collected by clubs in Ohio and Pennsylvania and from private business, have been shipped to Appalachia, Native American reservations, Central America, and India.
"The late Mother Teresa pleaded with Wright for clothing and medical supplies. Wright approached the Air Force Reserve's 910th Airlift Wing at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, which provided C-130 cargo planes to deliver 75,000 pounds of relief supplies to Calcutta, India.
"An Army veteran of World War II, S.P. accompanies every mission, making sure clothing and supplies are delivered and distributed under his supervision. The volume is remarkable. On average, 300,000 pounds of food and relief supplies have been delivered per year.
"Much of Wright's time is spent motivating various groups to donate to 'Poorest of the Poor.' They include 55 Rotary organizations, church, civic, business and youth groups.
"No doubt, S.P. has put his total self into this program, and today the world is a better place because S.P. Wright has made a difference in the lives of so many people all around the globe," the nomination concluded.
Wright began his education career as a teacher in Cincinnati. He was a school principal in Steubenville before becoming the longtime superintendent for Brookfield Schools. After retiring from Brookfield, he served as Girard school superintendent for four years.
Wright said Mother Teresa knew about him through his son, Dr. Paul Wright, a cardiologist at the Ohio Heart Institute in Youngstown, who was one of her heart doctors.
When Dr. Wright was involved in a medical clinic in Mexico, he told his father of the extreme poverty in the area and that "started the whole thing" of collecting goods and sending them to areas in need.
Wright, 80, said he is "very humbled" to receive the award, because there are so many volunteers who so much good.
"Without volunteers, things don't happen. There are so many people who give so much of themselves to help others. Without volunteers, many efforts just would not succeed," Wright said.
Feldes gains recognitionfor Black Civil War soldier
The Volunteer Services Agency of Youngstown, which nominated Feldes for the top statewide award, described him as a "proud World War II veteran with a sense of loyalty and duty to others who have served our country well."
In nominating Feldes, VSA wrote:
"For 34 years, Tony was bothered that a revered Civil War monument in Youngstown's Central Square did not include names of any black soldiers. With hard work, perseverance, and the help of local historians Steffon Jones and Tony Anderson, the name of Pvt. Jacob Nixon Robinson, 5th U.S.C.T. Co. "A" Ohio, is now memorialized alongside more than 100 other Mahoning Valley Civil War heroes.
"Tony now regards the monument with satisfaction knowing that an injustice has been addressed through the addition of a black casualty's name and that all of the Mahoning Valley -- white and black -- are now represented.
"As a young Marine, Tony was strongly influenced by Sgt. Major Edgar Huff, a black senior staff noncommissioned officer, and history buff. Huff often discussed history with Tony, centering on roles of black soldiers in various wars.
"In 1969, on a tour of downtown Youngstown while on leave, Tony stopped at the 'Man on the Monument,' honoring Civil War soldiers from the [Ohio] Western Reserve who died in that war. To his dismay, none of the soldiers names were designated U.S.C.T., indicating men attached to the United States Colored Troops.
"Soon after getting married and making Youngstown his home, Feldes took up the challenges of determining whether any black soldiers' names should be inscribed on the monument.
"In addition to feeling the pride a soldier feels when the sacrifice of another soldier has been appropriately honored, Tony also helped African-Americans in the Mahoning Valley feel an important and necessary inclusion in the history and fabric of their community.
"Tony also plays a leadership role in many local veterans' activities, including service as former commander of both VFW Post 6488 and the Mahoning County VFW Council. He is president of the Mount Hope Veterans Memorial Park Beautification Committee, which restores grave sites of U.S.C.T. veterans, and an advisor to the 5th Ohio U.S.C.T. Company I, which is active in Civil War re-enactments.
"He has volunteered since 1998. He mentors children in the Youngstown City School District and neighboring school districts and works several hours each week at the regional Veterans Administration clinic greeting patients, serving refreshments and transporting patients for outside medical treatment.
"From Tony's perspective, however, it all comes down to a simple matter of living the Marine Corps motto, 'Semper Fidelis' -- 'Always Faithful' -- a pledge to be loyal and committed to one's comrades-in-arms.
"After 20 years' active duty service as a Marine and eight more years' service during recalls, Tony is a proud veteran with a sense of loyalty and duty to others who have served our country well," the nomination concluded.
Feldes said he was shocked to get the award and that he does not deserve all this recognition.
"It was Steffon [Jones] who did all the work," he said.
He believes that the names of three more blacks should be on the monument, but so far the needed documentation is incomplete.
However, Feldes thinks that placing even just one name on the monument has made it mean "so much more than it did before to African-Americans in the community."
Pvt. Nixon was from Youngstown, but died in Virginia, Feldes said.
alcorn@vindy.com