Timothy S. Gilbert, a resident of Fellowship Community, Whitehall, received a 2020 Unsung Hero award during a small ceremony Oct. 13.

Unsung Hero awards are presented annually by the Lehigh County Office of Aging and Adult Services.

Gilbert was nominated for the recognition by Kelly Gould, vice president of marketing and development personnel for Fellowship Community and a friend of the award recipient, whom she called a “volunteer extraordinaire.”

Gilbert’s “dedication to improving the lives of those he leads is inspiring,” Gould wrote in her nomination.

The award ceremony took place outside of Gilbert’s home at Fellowship Community, 3000 Fellowship Drive, where fellow residents and staff members gathered to celebrate his accomplishment. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place during the spring but was postponed due to the pandemic.

Gilbert was only 17 years old when he left Allentown to serve in the Vietnam War. This service was his first major experience with volunteering - as he willingly chose to go. He committed to the Naval intelligence branch as a cryptologist, where he experienced unimaginable hardships.

He returned safely back to Allentown, began a career in the financial industry and created a family with his wife, Pat. Together, the couple shares two daughters, two sons-in-law, three grandchildren and 50 years of love.

Gilbert has the gift of leaving a “positive impact on the lives of individuals in every stage of life, from young students to retirees,” Gould wrote in her nomination letter.

She noted he provides creative suggestions in his position with the activities committee at Fellowship, encourages youths in his chairman position with the Fleet Reserve Association 115 and motivates veterans to have their voices heard by making sure they are interviewed for the Lehigh Valley House Project, which is archived in the United States Library of Congress.

Gilbert volunteers with Whitehall Lions Club, CrossPoint Church, Bright Hope Pregnancy Support Centers, Pioneer Apple Festival, Travis Manion Foundation 9/11 Heroes Run and more.

Although he is very busy, he is never ill-mannered, residents agreed.

In fact, Gilbert “goes out of his way to make people feel welcomed,” Mary Kay McMahon, president and CEO of Fellowship Community, said during the ceremony.

Residents also agreed Gilbert has a special presence that is difficult to come by nowadays and his heart is warm even on the coldest of days. He teaches that we get too caught up in the clouds, waiting for planes to move and birds to fly past, hoping to get a glimpse of a superhero gliding by - when they have been standing next to us the entire time.

The heroes are the volunteers who help their peers, the citizens who give back to their communities and those who hold the doors for the people behind.

Gilbert exemplifies the model citizen persona; he is kind, empathic and brave - and he is an Unsung Hero.