Milton hands out Citizen of Year, Lifetime Volunteer awards

Milton Town Council announced its annual Citizen of the Year and Lifetime Volunteer of the Year awards April 5.

Taking home the Citizen of the Year award was Threasa Brittingham, who was recognized for her compassion, pride in the community and acts of kindness on behalf of Milton citizens, Town Manager Kristy Rogers said. 

Brittingham, a Milton native and graduate of Cape Henlopen High School, organized Grad Fairies during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the Simply Milton Facebook page, Brittingham asked parents to sign up children who were losing out on graduation because of the pandemic. She then signed up volunteers as Grad Fairies who would assemble gift baskets for graduates from the Milton area. The Grad Fairies provided 47 Milton-area students with baskets.

Taking home the Lifetime Volunteer of the Year award is a couple very familiar to those who visit Milton’s downtown commercial district, Tom and Charlene Jones, owners of Irish Eyes restaurant. 

Over the years, Irish Eyes has donated more than $500,000 to local civic organizations such as the Milton Fire Department, Casa San Francisco, Milton Little League and Milton Chamber of Commerce, among many others. Irish Eyes raises money through fundraising events which have included the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Lucky Leprechaun 5K run. 

While the event was canceled this year due to pandemic crowd restrictions, the 2020 parade generated $13,000 that was donated to Milton Fire Department and Milton Chamber of Commerce.