Juanita Haugen Community Service Awards Announced

Pleasanton’s Juanita Haugen Community Service Awards are set to honor Greg Thome, JoAnn Weser, Bill Rudolph and the Alan Hu Foundation at a May 13 luncheon. (business.pleasanton.org) The Pleasanton Community of Character Collaborative scheduled the 2026 awards luncheon for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, May 13, at the Veterans Memorial Building, with tickets listed at $45. (business.pleasanton.org) The awards date to 2008 and recognize Pleasanton residents or groups doing volunteer work in Pleasanton who model six traits the program lists by name: responsibility, compassion, self-discipline, honesty, respect and integrity. (communityofcharacter.org) The award is named for Juanita Haugen, a longtime Pleasanton volunteer, co-founder of the Community of Character program and the longest-serving member of the Pleasanton school board, according to the organization and Pleasanton Chamber posting. (communityofcharacter.org, business.pleasanton.org) This year’s ceremony also doubles as a fundraiser for student scholarships. The collaborative said high school students who model the same values receive scholarships from the Juanita Haugen Memorial Scholarship Fund, and 14 Pleasanton Unified students have already been named for 2026. (business.pleasanton.org, patch.com) The Alan Hu Foundation brings a distinct focus to this year’s honorees. The Pleasanton-based nonprofit says it was created after Alan Hu died in 2018 at age 15, and it now runs free public mental health webinars and supports research on psychiatric disorders. (alanhufoundation.org, patch.com) Greg Thome has been recognized before in Pleasanton for long-term volunteer work. Pleasanton Chamber records from 2014 said he had served the community for more than 30 years and worked with Catholic Youth Organization basketball and track programs as a coach and co-athletic director. (hacienda.org, patch.com) JoAnn Weser’s name is closely tied to Pleasanton Military Families, the local nonprofit that has organized care packages, monthly support meetings and welcome-home events for service members and their families since 2003. A 2025 Pleasanton Weekly report identified Weser as the group’s treasurer. (pleasantonmilitaryfamilies.org, pleasantonweekly.com) Publicly available details on Bill Rudolph are thinner, but Pleasanton Rotary event listings identify him as “General Pleasonton,” a local history presenter, indicating the awards also continue the program’s pattern of honoring civic work that happens outside elected office. (ismyrotaryclub.org, communityofcharacter.org) The ceremony will put all four honorees in the same room as this year’s student scholarship recipients, linking Pleasanton’s volunteer legacy to the next group the program wants to spotlight. (business.pleasanton.org, patch.com)