Mayor Stemerdink presents the "Pearls of Voorschoten" awards to Ms. Verdonk-Ketelaar and Mr. De Wit
Ms. Marga Verdonk-Ketelaar and Mr. Arjan de Wit received a “Pearl of Voorschoten” award today. Ms. Verdonk-Ketelaar received the award for her many years of volunteer service to De Zonnebloem’s Voorschoten chapter. Mr. De Wit received the award for his many years of volunteer service to the Voorschoten community. Mayor Nadine Stemerdink presented the “Parel” during the Christmas lunch for guests of De Zonnebloem.
Ms. Verdonk-Ketelaar
Ms. Verdonk-Ketelaar has been active with De Zonnebloem for 30 years now. In the early years, she helped out during activities. Ms. Verdonk-Ketelaar has been a member of the board since 2014. As the board member in charge of the Visiting Program, she handles the intake of new guests and volunteers, matches guests with volunteers, organizes the visiting program, and serves as a confidential advisor.
Mr. De Wit
For many years, Mr. De Wit has been dedicated to serving the residents of Voorschoten and beyond, working for various organizations in different roles: Stichting De Club van Polen (volunteer and board member, 1989–present), De Zonnebloem, Voorschoten chapter (volunteer and board member for Activities, 2012–present), De Boschbloem (volunteer/technical building manager, 2021–present), and Topaz Zuydtwijck (volunteer/driver for the Zuydtwijck bus, present).
The Pearl of Voorschoten
The Pearl of Voorschoten is a municipal award given to individuals or organizations that have provided long-term volunteer service (at least 15 years) to one or more aspects of the community, or that have achieved an exceptional accomplishment. Anyone is eligible for the award provided that their contributions benefit or have benefited the Voorschoten community and meet the criteria. The Pearl of Voorschoten is awarded by unanimous decision of the mayor and aldermen.