By Greg Ellison

Staff Writer

(Aug. 15, 2019) Although deflecting credit and citing instead the work of other members of the community, Paul Weisengoff was designated last week as the 2019 Sam Wilkinson Volunteer Award recipient.

Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks Supervisor Debbie Donahue presented the award that recognizes exemplary volunteer service to Weisengoff during the Ocean Pines homeowners’ annual meeting on Saturday.

Donahue said Weisengoff, a four-decade resident of the Eastern Shore, is a volunteer coach and referee with both the Ocean Pines and Ocean City recreation programs, most notably with the OC Fast Breakers girls’ basketball team that includes numerous Ocean Pines residents.

“We’re honoring a gentleman that has been such a great help, not only to our youth programs, but also in the community,” she said.

Weisengoff, who was inducted as an umpire in the Washington Metropolitan Slow Pitch Softball Hall of Fame in 2017, takes charge of scheduling referees and umpires for numerous Ocean Pines recreation programs and has assisted in restructuring rules, Donahue said.

“He and his Fast Breakers players have volunteered at many of our special events for the past three years,” she said. “He believes in giving back and having the girls learn the same philosophy.”

Donahue said Ocean Pines established the Sam Wilkinson Volunteer Award in August 2003 to honor the memory of an eight-year-old boy who perished in an accident at Northside Park in Ocean City.

“As a way to honor the memory of Sam, and the Wilkinson family, for their dedication to Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks, we felt the award would continue on in his name and pay tribute to Sam’s involvement here in the Recreation Department, as well as his father,” she said.

Sam Wilkerson’s father, Bob Wilkerson, was a volunteer coach with both the Ocean Pines and Ocean City recreation programs, she said.

Native to Baltimore, Weisengoff relocated to the Eastern Shore in 1978 and a half dozen years later moved to Ocean Pines.

Donahue said since retiring from the Maryland Division of Corrections in 2016, Weisengoff has devoted a significant percentage of his newfound time as a community volunteer.

“As you can see, this gentleman has been and will hopefully continue to be a major asset not only to the recreation department, but the community as well, and I’m very lucky to call him my friend,” she said. “He also is pretty handy at catching crabs – and he likes to share.”

Weisengoff acknowledged numerous friends on hand for the award presentation and credited a host of young athletes he coaches for echoing the spirit of volunteerism.

“My kids are great [and] they help in everything I ask them to do … Fourth of July, Breakfast with Santa, [the] Easter Bunny, whatever,” he said. “They come and they willingly give … I do some things, but I couldn’t do it without them.”

Weisengoff, who also serves as the Manklin Meadows Association president, expressed gratitude to the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department for a recent emergency response.

“We had a fire in one of our condo units the other day, and the firemen and the auxiliary was fantastic to our owners,” he said.

While admitting to slighting past solicitations for contributions from the fire department, Weisengoff said the incident at Manklin Meadows highlighted the importance of lending financial support.

“It’s a great organization, so I’m going to ask everybody to please reach out to them and do what you can, because they were awesome,” he said.