Community Corner

Volunteering Spelled B-U-S-Y

Angie Kellich, a Horsham resident of more than 30 years, thrives on staying committed to her community.

Angie Kellich can’t sit still.

Seriously. Literally. By her own admission she’s “all over the place.”

During the annual , Kellich, 54, the event’s coordinator of volunteers for the last 12 years, could be seen zipping to and fro picking up and delivering food and making sure the clothesline art contest, parking, traffic control and other behind-the-scenes planning activities went off without a hitch.

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“I am so busy that I don’t sit still,” Kellich said, chuckling at the thought of having spared a second to have a photo of herself snapped during any of the dozen Horsham Days she’s help to run. “It’s just too funny. I am all over the place.”

Lucille Ball’s saying, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it,” could have been written for Kellich, according to those who work elbow-to-elbow with her on Horsham Day, on Horsham’s park and recreation board and on Friends of the Horsham Library.

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“Angie doesn’t know the meaning of the words ‘no,’ or ‘I can’t,’ ” Mary Dare, a fellow volunteer for Horsham Day, the library and the park and rec board said of Kellich. “She gives 110 percent all of the time.”

That’s why Kellich’s recent announcement that this past year’s Horsham Day would be her last serving as coordinator of the volunteers came particularly hard for community members.

“We call her volunteers ‘Angie’s Army,’ ” Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker said of the 50 to 100 people Kellich rounds up in the months leading up to the event. “I’ll tell you what, I don’t know how we’ll replace her.”

Kellich said she plans to help fellow Horsham Day organizers find a replacement – or replacements – to carry out her various roles. An executive assistant at Charon Planning in Warrington, Kellich attributes much of her event management prowess to her organizational skills – and the fact that she loves her volunteers.

“Horsham Day just doesn’t run well if things aren’t in place,” Kellich said. “We really can’t have Horsham Day without these volunteers. Everybody pitches in. It’s just unbelievable.”

And, even though Horsham Day is almost six months away, Kellich said it’s never too early to start enlisting her Army – a process she usually starts in January.

“It’s being in touch with your volunteers. It's something that continues every year. It’s by email. It’s by phone,” Kellich said. “My volunteers are like my family. They just come back every year and I make sure I feed them well. It’s a great day and it’s a busy day.”

Jo-Anne Zapata who heads up the and also helps to organize Horsham Day, said Kellich is always willing to help and described her as an “all-around wonderful person.”

“She puts her heart into it,” Zapata said.

And with that kind of investment, it’s not easy to walk away – or sit down.

“I will continue and go and go and go until I can’t go anymore,” Kellich said. “I’m not a couch potato.”

How you can get involved

If interested in volunteering for Horsham Day, email Horsham's Parks and Recreation Director Mark Hudson.


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