Terry Cornwell Memorial Award
The initial of six Kiwanis club objectives cites the “primacy of the human and spiritual rather than the material values of life.” In keeping with that principle club members annually recognize someone outside its membership as beneficiary of the Terry Cornwell Human and Spiritual Values Award. This year’s honoree is John Thelen.
In announcing the selection, Chris Bouck explained that “human and spiritual values have many different sides, and a person who is spiritual is trustworthy, honorable, hard-working, calm, loving and charitable. In John, these qualities are constant.” The attribute is made evident through John’s activities as a father, his work as a member of the Smith Funeral Home family, his dealing with friends and, in particular, his years of work with the St. Vincent DePaul organization.
Thelen is shown holding the honor plaque presented by Kiwanis President Marcia Peterson.
John has long been involved with St. Vincent DePaul, serving the past six years as its president. Under his leadership, the number of volunteer workers grew from 20 to over 100. In addition, he directed a move from somewhat crowded quarters in downtown St. Johns to a more spacious setting at Southpoint Mall, which allowed expansion of services to patrons and those in need. Over the years, the organization has raised over $800,000.00 to assist people with food, rent, mortgages, gasoline, medicine and other daily life requirements. While his central focus has been St. Vincent, John has been influential while assisting programs conducted by Hospice of Clinton County and the St. Johns Ministerial Association.
John’s wife, Judi, has been asked about the difficulty of having to “share John with so many people.” Her response is that life is unimaginable any other way. She explains that one of his personal qualities attracting her to him was his compassion for humanity. “He always goes the extra mile to help others,” she commented, “and I’m very proud of him and all that he has done for so many. That’s not sharing; it’s watching John do what he loves to do.”
John and Judi reside in St. Johns with their children, Ben, a senior, Sarah, a sophomore and Emily an eighth grader.