Tom George, who turns 90 in a few weeks, held his wife Marie's hand as they returned to their seats after being thanked Wednesday for the combined 9,508 hours of volunteer work they have performed on behalf of Schuylkill County's Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

The Georges, of Seltzer City, joined volunteer Donna Rice, 67, of Ashland, and program coordinator Darla Troutman for the honors.Volunteer Eleanor Stefansky of Pottsville was also honored, but was unable to attend the ceremony.Both Stefansky and Tom George were given Lifetime Volunteer Service awards at a brunch on Tuesday. The award is given to those who donate at least 4,000 hours.Stefansky has logged a total of 8,345 volunteer hours; Tom George has logged 6,261; Marie George 3,247, and Rice 1,153.Stefansky has volunteered at hospitals in Pottsville and at Avenues, a program for the disabled.Tom and Marie George volunteer at several nursing homes, and Tom as a tutor at John S. Clarke Elementary Center; Rice volunteers at the county Office of Senior Services, at Service Access and Management, for the Red Cross, Meals on Wheels and for local hospitals."Some of these people spend as much time volunteering as you would at a full-time job," Troutman said.In 2016, RSVP volunteers logged a total of 32,251 hours of service. Had they been paid minimum wage for that work, they'd have earned $233,819, Troutman said.The county's RSVP program began in 1984 and is sponsored by the Office of Senior Services.Its volunteers have donated more than 1.58 million hours of service, helping animal shelters, food banks, schools, nursing homes and other nonprofit organizations.The program currently has about 320 volunteers, age 55 and older.Also on Wednesday, commissioners approved two projects.The first was to award a $36,836 contract to Arthur "Pat" Aungst for a Community Development Block Grant Americans with Disabilities Act ramp installation project Tower City.The second was to award a $9,948 contract to AMC Enterprises, Frackville, for a demolition project at 1226-1228 Main St. in Gilberton.The funding for that project is from a $1.4 million grant through the state Department of Community and Economic Development.The county received the money in January.In other matters, commissioners proclaimed Sept. 14 through Sept. 20 as Constitution Week.Sept. 17 marks the 230th anniversary of the drafting of the United States Constitution."It is fitting and proper to accord official recognition to this magnificent document, and to the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate the occasion," the proclamation states.