Becky Crane was told to get to the Fennville school board meeting on Monday immediately.

Crane got in her car and drove down to the school, not sure what to expect.

When she walked into the meeting room, board President Rick Curtis said he had something important to tell her.

"You have just been voted the Paine Volunteerism Award winner for this year," he said.

"I'm shocked," she said, as she stood up from her chair. "I had no idea I was getting this."

"We've known about all of your hard work raising money for the school and being so active in the community and we thought you would be the best candidate for this award," Curtis said.

The Clifford E. Paine Volunteerism Award is given to the person who best exemplifies the spirit of community volunteerism for the betterment of education in the school district. The award is named after a graduate of Fennville High School who spent much of his adult life helping improve educational opportunities for children in the district.

Paine died in 1995.

Crane has run the Crane's Pie Pantry Restaurant on 124th Avenue in Fennville there since 1981.

Crane has done many fund-raising projects. One of her favorite projects was sitting on the board of the Fennville Area Youth Services, a group that helped young people. The group recently disbanded.

Wanting to do something different, Crane put on a major fund-raiser in the high school cafeteria where the group had installed large round tables covered with white linen tablecloths and fine silverware. Some of the most troubled youth in the area put on tuxedos and formal gowns and served as waiters and waitresses for a gourmet dinner that was cooked up in the kitchen. The dinner raised several thousand dollars.

She raised more than $16,000 while her son was in school, and now that her daughter is in eighth grade, she and a group of other volunteers are trying to raise money for the class prom, a non-alcoholic graduation party and educational trips for different classes.

She also worked on Project ChARLIE, a drug and alcohol prevention program for young students, and the HOST program, a mentoring program in which adults teach young students how to read better and enjoy the values of literature.

One of her most recent projects was serving hot breakfasts to seventh-graders during MEAP tests.