Amy Floyd of Sugar Land, President of the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra, was named Greater Houston Area Volunteer of the Year by Special Olympics at the annual awards banquet on Thursday, August 10, 2006 at the Arabia Shrine Center.

A Fort Bend County resident since 2000, MsFloyd has played cello with the Orchestra since 2003 and has served as President of the Fort Bend Symphony since 2004She is also an accomplished pianist and flautist.

Born in Indiana, she moved to Canada at age two She is employed by Lennar Corporation as National Customer Care Manager Her involvement with Special Olympics began in 2000 with Lennar’s Project Opportunity program.

Project Opportunity is a partnership between Lennar, Special Olympics, and Habitat for Humanity Athletes and volunteers are paired together and build homes for Habitat for Humanity MsFloyd’s role is one of an athlete advocate, ensuring that the athletes are immersed in the process, that they are truly learning about constructing a home, and that volunteers are trained and excited about working with the athletes.

In 2005 Lennar took the program a step further by introducing the Life and Work Skills ProgramThe Life and Work Skills Program involves 21 students, all with intellectual disabilities, who commute to Lennar’s Houston Corporate office once each month to learn about such things as dressing for success, interview skills, using the internet and email, using computers, copiers and fax machines, home maintenance skills, and riding the bus MsFloyd provides leadership and oversight for both programs.

In presenting the Special Olympics award to MsFloyd, Renee Klovenski, Program Director for Special Olympics Texas Greater Houston Area 4 said “You are a fabulous volunteer that has impacted the athletes, community, and Special Olympics with your work with the athletes in the Project Opportunity program Your enthusiasm of the organization and your willingness to share the experiences with the community were instrumental in the Area Management Team’s decision to honor you with this award.”

“She is a very special woman She makes the extra effort to help design programs to integrate our Special Olympics athletes into real life in order to get jobs She puts her special touch on everything that she does, and she leaves a lasting impression with our athletes,” she added.

Dr. John Ricarte, Conductor and Musical Director of the Fort Bend Symphony Orchestra said, “Amy is the type of individual who makes a difference in the lives of everyone she comes in contact with She provides our orchestra with strong leadership, and we are proud that Special Olympics has honored her for her contributions to their programs as well.”

The Fort Bend Symphony will be offering free tickets for the 2006-07 Season Concerts to Special Olympics in their “Caring for the Community” project. For more information about the upcoming concert schedule please visit www.fbso.org.

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For additional information contact Coleman Locke at 979/533-0756