Past Leadership Award Recipients

2018 Leadership Award Winner | Jonathan “JT” Thompson

Jonathan Thompson was born and raised in Hyannis and is passionate about our Cape Cod Community. His energy and charisma are dynamic. With a big smile and warm hug, he makes every person he meets feel like they are somebody special.

2017 Leadership Award Winner | Joel Crowell

After graduating from Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in 1968, Joel Crowell attended Northeastern University where he studied business and accounting. During this time, he also started his career at The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod, working as a teller at the East Dennis branch. After graduating, he served for many years as assistant branch manager, then treasurer and chief financial officer, and was named president and CEO in 1983. During Crowell’s tenure, the bank has grown from $21 million in 1968 to $69 million when he became president and CEO to $875 million today.

2016 Leadership Award Winners | Lorraine & Tony Shepley

Lorraine and Tony Shepley both admit they are “wash-a-shores” who moved to the Cape in their late teens. They fell in love with Cape Cod and got so busy they never left. Lorraine became a nationally ranked triathlete and later a ski professional and Tony started a lumber business with a partner, no experience, a single truck and $4,000 in capital. In the early days, he doubled as the human forklift.

2015 Leadership Award Winner | Brig. Gen (ret.) Don Quenneville

Brigadier General Don Quenneville is a retired pilot who spent more than 36 years serving both the active and reserve components of the Air Force. He is currently an independent consultant and owner of Great Pointe Consulting, LLC, advising his clients on how best to work with and develop business opportunities with military and federal government agencies.

2014 Leadership Award Winner | Shawn Delude

In 1999 Shawn opened Nauset Disposal with a pickup truck and a pair of gloves. Over the past 15 years Shawn has built the company off strong relationships with local businesses and a dedication to giving back to the local Cape Cod community.

2013 Leadership Award Winners | Paul & Carolyn Hebert

Paul and Carolyn Hebert founded the Housing For All Corporation in 1988 to better aid their fellow Cape Codders who had nowhere to sleep on cold winter nights but the streets of Hyannis. “How can we enjoy our cozy bed while someone is huddled in a doorway?” asked Carolyn. While working full time as a chef to support his wife and three daughters, Paul, with Carolyn’s help, envisioned and manifested the NOAH Shelter, the Miracle Kitchen, Gleaners Second Harvest and the Day Star Place.

2012 Leadership Award Winner | E.J. Jaxtimer

Through almost 35 years of hard work and determination, I have built a business of which I am very proud. I still feel the excitement as I head off to my office early every morning because I truly enjoy what I do. In over 34 years in the home building industry, I have met so many great people – customers, architects, suppliers, tradesmen, and employees. Building these long-term relationships has been the key to our success.

2011 Leadership Award Winner | Beth Marcus

Beth Marcus moved to Cape Cod in 1999 with her husband Todd to pursue their dream of opening their own brewery. She had never owned a home, had never worked for a small business and didn’t really understand the potential of life in a small community. For the first few years she worked in a variety of jobs including office manager for a builder and a local land trust, and IT director of a now defunct tech company. She even spent a couple of years as the Community Leadership Institute’s program coordinator.

2010 Leadership Award Winner | DeWitt Davenport

I grew up five houses down the street from my grandparents in West Dennis. They lived, breathed, and enjoyed visual and performing arts. My grandmother was a painter and played the melodeon. My grandfather loved the theatre. Prior to his passing, he talked to my father and me about his concern for the stability and sustainability of arts on Cape Cod. In 1985, we formed and funded the John K. and Thirza Davenport Foundation for the Arts (one of the largest Foundations in the supporting the Arts on Cape Cod), supporting a commitment to excellence in the visual and performing arts. The John K. and Thirza Davenport Foundation grants scholarships to Barnstable County residents in their last two years of undergraduate study or, preferably, graduate work in the visual and performing arts. Preferences are given to projects, activities, or capital needs that are one-time, student driven situations.

2009 Leadership Award Winner | Rear Admiral Richard G. Gurnon, USMS

  • Bachelors Degree, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, 1970. Masters Degree, Bridgewater State College, 1981.
  • Piloted multi-engine P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft throughout Atlantic and Mediterranean.
  • Plane commander, mission commander, instructor pilot, Naval Air Stations Brunswick, Maine and Weymouth, Massachusetts.

2008 Leadership Award Winner | Joseph J. Reardon

  • Born and raised in Medway, Massachusetts.
  • Bachelor’s Degree from the College of the Holy Cross (1958) and Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School (1964).
  • United States Navy (1958-61), separated from active duty with rank of Lt(jg).

2007 Leadership Award Winner | Alan Burt

  • Probation Officer for the Barnstable District Court (Barnstable Action for New Directions program) since 1994
  • Earned a B.A. in Human Services from Lesley College and a Master’s in Social Work from Boston University
  • Member of the Advisory Board to the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health• Member of Barnstable Town Council’s Human Services Committee

2006 Leadership Award Winner | Anne Walther Hayes

  • Manager of the Hyannis Branch of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank since 1996
  • Member of the Board of Directors of Housing Assistance Corporation since 1996 and Board Treasurer since 2004
  • Member of the Board of Directors and Clerk of the Consumer Assistance Council since 1992

2005 Leadership Award Winner | Anne Walther Hayes

  • President and Chief Executive Officer, Rehabilitation Hospitalof the Cape and Islands
  • CLI Cape Cod & the Islands alumna (1997)
  • CLI Board of Directors (1997-2004) Treasurer, Program Chair
  • Member, Board of Directors, Cape Symphony Orchestra
  • Member, Board of Directors, Consumer Assistance Council
  • Member, Board of Directors, Sandwich Chamber of Commerce

2004 Leadership Award Winner | Linda Calmes Jones

  • Vice President, Director of Electronic & Telephone Banking, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank
  • CLI Cape Cod & the Islands alumna (1998)
  • Trustee, Cape Cod Five Charitable Foundation Trust, Member of its Culture and Environment Donation Advisory Committee

2003 Leadership Award Winner | Kevin Turner

  • Principal, Harwich High School.
  • Coursework complete for his doctoral degree (EdD) in Educational Leadership from Northeastern University with graduation date of June 2015.
  • CAGS from Bridgewater State College in Educational leadership, MAT from Bridgewater State College in Teaching Social Science, BA from UMass Amherst in Political Science.