Snow

ALPENA — Alpena resident Gordon Snow was recently named the 2018 Distinguished Volunteer by Youth for Understanding USA for over 40 years of volunteer work with international youth exchange programs.

Snow was honored last weekend in Pittsburgh and said it’s nice to be recognized publicly.

“It’s to acknowledge 40 years of work with the program,” he said. “My first thought was, ‘Well it’s about time,’ but that’s not really what I mean at all. It’s nice to be recognized for the things I’ve done.”

Snow decided to get involved with the exchange program after encouragement from a friend and he said it took a little convincing for him to join. In 1980, after a couple of years of hosting an exchange student, Snow was asked if he wanted to be a more formal volunteer with the program and he thought it would be the right thing to do.

While working with YFU, Snow has been an area representative, an area coordinator, and a field manager. He has helped conducted interviews with American students planning an overseas experience and area families looking to host a student.

Snow also created a handbook for parents of American teens participating in summer or year-long exchanges in partner countries around the world.

“I did hear at one point that it was being translated into a couple other languages, which was also gratifying,” he said.

Over the years, Snow hosted over 80 boys from all over the world for a year or a semester while they attended Alpena High School.

“I decided that, after 40 years, that that was it, for no reason other than I wanted to do some traveling and not be so involved,” Snow said.

Snow said a benefit of YFU has been the training that is provided. He remembers three- or four-hour trainings about active listening, during which trainees would learn about listening and would have to paraphrase what they were just told.

“The active listening training has been very useful when working with students, especially if they have a complaint or a criticism or if they think something isn’t fair,” Snow said. “I’ve been to a lot of trainings because the program really believes that, in order to be well-prepared and equipped to support students and their host families, you need to know a little bit more than they do.”

Locally, Snow volunteers at St. Bernard’s Friendship Room, is the choir director for First Presbyterian Church, and he volunteers at the Alpena County Library as an Adult Literacy Program tutor.

Snow has also been honored by YFU as Michigan Field Director of the Year in 1986 and 1989 and he received the Presidential Award for Volunteer of the Year in 1988.

Snow is currently president of the Alpena Public Schools Board of Education and has been a board member since 2008. He also retired from the district after serving as an elementary teacher and principal, working from 1966 to 2000.