Regina Gage, MOWSV Executive Director, was honored September 24th at an awards ceremony held at Embassy Suites and received the "Unsung Hero" award from the Nonprofit Alliance of Monterey County (NAMC).

Regina shared the honor with her staff and board members and the community for all their support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley continues our mission every day: Delivering Meals, Nurturing Hearts and Nourishing Homebound Seniors. Congratulations, Regina!

Regina received the award for her work on creating the MASA program at the beginning of the pandemic. The idea for the program began when MOWSV received unexpected funds from generous donors, along with some tangible offers of help from Monterey Salinas Transit (MST) and Independent Transportation Network Monterey County (ITN) which allowed us, in just a few days, to develop a new meal delivery program using local restaurants.

The program: 1) Served new clients coming in during this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) Supported local restaurants who are trying to survive; 3) Allowed employees/volunteers from MST and ITN to continue to serve the community; 4) Enabled Meals on Wheels of the Salinas Valley, their staff and volunteers to continue to serve weekly meals to approximately 150-200 existing home-bound seniors in the Salinas Valley.

Laurie Bend, Outreach Director, was also nominated for the "Unsung Hero" award and the MASA program by NAMC.