Photo By Spc. Damilola Awe | Winners from each of the six categories, including active duty, civilian, family...... read more read more
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys Army Community Service hosted its annual Volunteer of the Year awards reception at the Morning Calm Center, April 9, to express gratitude to its 1,200 volunteers who logged more than 80,000 hours in 2025.
Col. Kristen Steinbrecher, commander, U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys addressed the more than 170 volunteers and guests in attendance.
"Your selfless acts, big and small, create a network of support that is the bedrock of our community," she said. "Thank you for your time, your energy and your heart."
Community members nominated more than 100 eligible volunteers for their contributions in 2025, and individual winners were chosen from six categories, including active duty, civilian, family member, local national, retiree and youth.
Lt. Gen. Joe Hilbert, commanding general, Eighth Army, and keynote speaker, praised the volunteers’ combined efforts.
"80,000 hours is a powerful number, but it's just the tip of the iceberg," he said. "Each hour has a ton of impact under it that we don't necessarily see."
One tangible way to represent volunteers' contributions to the community is to convert their hours into a dollar value based on the national average hourly wage ($34.79).
The estimated value of the 80,116.5 volunteer hours was $2,787,253.04, which was presented via a symbolic check by Chris Bradford, director, Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, to the garrison command team.
However, the community at large isn't the only benefactor from volunteerism; in many cases it was the volunteers themselves.
"I do it for fun – it’s not even work," said Staff Sgt. Richard Braun, a horizontal construction engineer with 11th Engineer Battalion, who won the active duty category for the Volunteer of the Year.
Braun served the community primarily by volunteering at the Four Chaplains Memorial Chapel. There, he performed tasks such as registering and checking in families, along with facilitating playtime, worship songs and art activities for pre-K children. Braun said he taught preschool for five years before joining the Army.
In addition to supporting the chapels on post, Braun also volunteered through the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers, the Abandoned Bike Program, and stocked shelves at the library.
Makayla Sonnier, a sophomore at Humphreys High School, was the event's overall winner and youth category winner.
Sonnier and HHS National Honor Society's approximately 150 members tutored Humphreys Middle School students, conducted several school cleanups in the areas around the high school, read to elementary school students and assisted with evening events such as hot cocoa nights.
So, what does Sonnier get from volunteering?
"Close friendships," she said brightly through a permasmile without skipping a beat. "I enjoy serving others who don't get the same opportunities." Sonnier is no stranger to the community, having lived in Daegu as an elementary student between 2018-2020, before returning to Camp Humphreys in 2024.
In all, volunteers like Sonnier and Braun were part of the 1,216 total volunteers who entered hours into the Volunteer Management Information System in 2025. Fifty-eight volunteers completed more than 250 hours; 24 volunteers completed more than 500 hours; and 4 members of the Camp Humphreys community each volunteered more than 1,000 hours.
Even still, these numbers do not account for any of the individuals who volunteered but did not log hours in the system.
"Camp Humphreys is known as the Army's home in Korea, but that would not be possible without the dedication and hard work of our volunteers," Steinbrecher said.
2025 Volunteer of the Year winners:
Overall Volunteer of the Year: Makayla Sonnier Active Duty: Staff Sgt. Richard Braun Civilian: Lisa Peck Family Member: Eunyoung Reynolds Local National: Hui Yeo (Jubilee) Yoo Retiree: Ray Wood Youth: Makayla Sonnier
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.13.2026 02:48 |
| Story ID: | 562549 |
| Location: | PYEONGTAEK, GYEONGGIDO [KYONGGI-DO], KR |
| Web Views: | 24 |
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