Ricardo (Rick) DeBellis, student services manager at Oregon State University, has been honored by Leadership Corvallis as the 10th Hans Neukomm Award winner.
A 2007 graduate of Leadership Corvallis, DeBellis is well known for volunteer work. He has served in various capacities with the Downtown Corvallis Association (2002 to 2007), Leadership Corvallis (2008 to 2011), the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (2004 to present), the OSU Motorcycle Visibility Day Planning Committee (2006 to present) and the Doc Wong Motorcycle Clinics of Albany and Eugene (2011 to present).
“He is a creative problem solver and crushes town versus gown barriers everywhere he goes,” said 2012 Hans Neukomm award winner Ben Danley, who nominated DeBellis. “Rick, like Hans and the previous Hans Neukomm Award recipients, is a great example of what can be done by someone who cares to get involved in their community.”
Established in 2004, the Hans Neukomm Award is named for the founder of Leadership Corvallis. Neukomm, who passed away in 2011, envisioned Leadership Corvallis as a way to give participants a better understanding of how our community functions so they can be more effective in the workplace and community.
The award is given each year to a past class member who has made a significant impact through service to the community. In addition to DeBellis, prior recipients include: Julie Manning, the late Scott Zimbrick, Pete Bober, Susan Poole, Biff Traber, Penny York, Kavinda Arthenayake, David Hamby and Ben Danley.