This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 16 - Student Voice Part II.

On December 30th at the 2006 Winter Solstice Celebration of the Humanist Community of Central Ohio (HCCO), our own August E. Brunsman IV was given the 2006 Apex Award for Distinguished Service.  HCCO also did an end-of-year fund-drive for The Secular Student Alliance, raising $500.  Thank you, HCCO!

August gratefully accepts his Apex Award and thanks HCCO for its fund-drive for SSA.

The award was presented by HCCO's President Amy Birtcher, and her remarks follow.

"The final award for the evening is the Apex Award for Distinguished Service.  The award this year is going to someone who has taken his involvement in Humanism far beyond HCCO.  He first discovered Humanism by finding a copy of AHA’s Humanist magazine at the Upper Arlington library around the age of 12. He learned about HCCO at Comfest, in about 1995, and started attending events after that.  In 1997, he and a group of friends started a group called Students for Freethought at the Ohio State University, and then he became much more active in HCCO, eventually serving on our board and serving as secretary.  In 1999 he got involved in Camp Quest and is currently serving as the director of the Ohio camp.  In 2000 he helped form a new organization to build freethought groups on college campuses, The Secular Student Alliance.  He is now the paid Executive Director of that organization.  He’s also a Humanist Celebrant who has performed several weddings.  As you can see, this is a person who is not only talking the talk but also walking the walk by making Humanism the focus of his life and his work.  Please join me in honoring this year’s Apex Award Winner, Mr. August Brunsman."

This article originally appeared in the SSA eMpirical No. 16 - Student Voice Part II.