2015 Mayor & Vice Mayor's Award of Excellence Recipients

Joseph Berryman

Joseph Berryman is one of the founding members of the Legacy Museum and continues to serve as its treasurer. He is also very active at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church where he serves as the Chair of the Deacon Board and Church School Superintendent. Joe takes great pride in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood, and when the state reduced its highway maintenance operations on the medians, he got out his riding mower and cut the grass himself. As a former educator and School Board member, he often shares his wisdom and personal experiences as a way to encourage young people to be all they can be.

Julie Doyle

After moving to Lynchburg from Washington, DC in 1993, Julie Doyle knew that the best way to get to know her new home was to be involved in the community. For over 20 years, Julie has been serving this community from Kid’s Haven to the School Board to Centra Health. As a business woman and as a volunteer, she has worked tirelessly to give back to this community.

Paul & Libby Fitzgerald

From spearheading public art projects like Keys for the Hill City, to pounding nails while working on Habitat for Humanity home builds, this power couple is committed to making a difference in this community. These New York City transplants arrived in Lynchburg in 1971 and for next 35 years, Paul practiced orthopedic surgery and Libby began her career as an area journalist for WSET-TV. Although they have always been active in the community, retirement brought them more opportunities to give back—and give back they have.

Phyllis Webb

Phyllis Webb is a lifelong resident of the Lynchburg community. As an educator, she taught hundreds of students throughout her 30-year career. Outside of the school system, Phyllis has served on the boards of a number of non-profit organizations including CASA and Citizens for a Clean Lynchburg and participates in March on Litter and the Adopt-A-Street program. She co-chairs the Edley Addition Neighborhood Watch and volunteers with Meals on Wheels and Daily Bread. If you ask Phyllis about all of this, she’s quick to give credit to others, but we appreciate her efforts to make Lynchburg a great place to live, work and play.

Geoffrey Kershner

Shakespeare wrote “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” As both the co-founder of the Endstation Theater Company and a college theatre professor, Geoff Kershner brings new life to the meaning of those words. He has worked with the community to introduce theatre in new and exciting ways. Geoff, partnering with the City’s Economic Development Office, helped spearhead the “Random Acts of Culture” program that presented impromptu mini-theatre performances in unusual locations throughout the city bringing theater to people who might not otherwise experience it. He also worked with Tom Gerdy and one of our other award recipients, Libby Fitzgerald, in creating a theatrical adaption of the book “Insights from Inside.”