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Hinduja's volunteer efforts earn presidential award
Suraj Hinduja
By HOLLY FENNER
Suraj Hinduja might look like your average Dublin Davis Middle School student, but he is making a big impact through his dedication to volunteer services.
Hinduja was presented with the President's Volunteer Service Award Feb. 15 when President George W. Bush visited Dublin.
According to a press release from the White House, the award was created at the direction of the president by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation.
It is available for volunteers ages 14 years old and younger who have completed 50 hours or more of volunteer services; to individuals 15 and older who have completed 100 hours or more; and to families or groups who have completed 200 or more hours.
Hinduja served 280 hours of volunteer service in the Dublin community in 2005.
"I know I'm not able to volunteer 4,000 hours a year, but even one hour a year makes a difference to somebody," Hinduja said in an e-mail.
Prior to receiving the award, Hinduja also had the opportunity to welcome President Bush to Ohio as he stepped off Air Force One at Port Columbus International Airport.
"It was wonderful," Hinduja said about meeting the president. "It was the chance of a lifetime."
"(He) is not even 5 feet tall yet, but this 13-year-old has begun a life of volunteer service that makes him a towering presence in our community," Christine Nardecchia, volunteer services coordinator for Dublin said in an e-mail.
"(He) spends much of his time thinking of and serving others at school, during summer breaks and while spending time in the Dublin community," Nardecchia said.
For Dublin, Hinduja has been a camp volunteer for two years at Project LEED (Leadership, Ethics, Esteem and Duty) and was elected president of the camp.
Project LEED is a nine-week summer camp for kids in grades 7-9, which combines recreation with volunteer service projects.
"It was something fun to do and I was recommended by city officials," Hinduja said.
"It was a great opportunity for me to help people."
According to the White House release, Hinduja has volunteered in soup kitchens, wildlife centers and has organized a fundraiser to benefit a local homeless shelter through Project LEED.
"I go as far as I need to go to fill my duties," Hinduja said.
Hinduja organized a car wash with the help of his LEED peers and raised $350 for the homeless shelter and delivered the cash directly to the shelter's director.
"It makes me feel really good inside that I am helping, whether it's indirectly or directly," Hinduja said.
Hinduja has also been a junior counselor for elementary school students at camps sponsored by the city of Dublin Recreation and Volunteer services departments.
Not only is Hinduja an active volunteer in the Dublin community, but also at Davis Middle School.
At school, Hinduja is a Volunteer School Ambassador, helping new students find their way around; a Volunteer Peer Tutor, helping tutor students in math and social studies; a Peer Mediator, spending approximately 25 hours per year mediating conflicts between individuals and groups of students; and is also Student Council secretary.
In the future, Hinduja said he hopes to study political science and law.
John Deere sales team plans move to Dublin
Average annual salary for 22-person staff is $116,477
Thursday, January 5, 2006
By MICHAEL RACEY
Villager Staff Writer
The regional sales office of John Deere is moving to Dublin.
"We're thrilled with the move," said Colleen Gilger, acting director of Dublin's economic development division.
John Deere, based in Illinois, is looking to sell its 150,000-square-foot parts-distribution center on Georgesville Road in Columbus.
John Deere officials have decided to lease 10,400 square feet of space at Preserve II on Frantz Road for its 22-employee sales staff. The office will be open for business on March 1.
"Our plans are to relocate to Dublin," said Jerry Roell, general manager of the office. "We've had less employment at our Columbus operation. Our employment base has been scaled down."
The international firm sells one of the best-known brands of agricultural, construction, forestry and power equipment, as well as a popular line of merchandise.
John Deere officials were looking for a smaller office to relocate its regional sales operation and picked Dublin, Roell said.
Dublin offered an economic development deal to John Deere worth a 12 percent rebate on its payroll income taxes to the city, provided the office meets annual 2.5 percent growth projection goals during a period between 2007 and 2009.
John Deere also will receive a $7,500 relocation grant this year to help with costs associated with the move which is planned for February, Roell said.
A first reading of the deal will happen at Dublin City Council's meeting Monday night. A public hearing and second reading for a vote will occur at council's Jan. 23 meeting.
While negotiated between the company and the city's economic development division, the deal requires council's approval.
The average salary of the sales employees moving to Dublin is $116,477, according to Gilger.
She said the company will be worth about $212,816 in additional payroll income taxes to the city.
The company signed a five-year lease for the Dublin office space, Roell said.
His sales staff is responsible for a 16-state region that is bounded by Indiana to the west, Kentucky to the south and the northeast part of the country.
Roell said the company also employs 65 field representatives that work from their homes and are not part of the deal with the city.
Some sales and administrative work has been shifted to Kansas City while parts distribution that was coming out of Columbus has been moved to Indianapolis and an office near Toronto, Roell said.
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