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Awards & Recognition
Richard Ornalez, Volunteer Houston Award
 Richard Ornalez, a volunteer with Neighborhood Tax Centers, has been named one of the 2009 Mayor’s Volunteer Houston Award Winners. For the past 18 years, Ornalez has prepared taxes for free, primarily assisting Spanish speaking individuals at Ripley House. "Educating people about their taxes is important," Ornalez said. "I want taxpayers to understand why they are receiving a refund, what receipts and records must be kept, how they can improve their tax situation and how the various tax credits impact the final refund amount."
The Mayor’s award recognizes individuals who do remarkable volunteer work that make Houston a better place to live. In fact, through his many years of service, Ornalez has helped Houston’s underserved families receive more than $1 million in tax refunds and credits.
During the 2009 tax season, Neighborhood Tax Centers volunteers prepared 16,821 returns resulting in more than $23 million in refunds.
Khakis and Collars Program, Leadership in Action Award
 Chevron and Neighborhood Centers Inc. received a joint Leadership in Action Award from Leadership Houston for the Khakis and Collars program that provides school uniforms for children in underserved neighborhoods.While school supplies and backpacks are readily available from a number of providers each summer, Chevron identified the cost of school uniforms as a particular hardship for low-income families. In 2003 Chevron made an initial grant of $10,000 to provide a new school uniform – a polo-style shirt and one pair of khaki pants, shorts or “skorts” – to Neighborhood Centers children. Chevron has since doubled its initial investment, and employee volunteers distributed uniforms to more than 1,400 children at three Neighborhood Centers locations in 2008.
The Leadership in Action Awards recognize nonprofits and corporations that have made extraordinary contributions through their programs and projects toward the betterment of life in the Greater Houston area.
Joyce Jordan, Ready for Life Award
 Care for Elders, Houston’s largest, most diverse and most experienced partnership focused on elder care issues, selected Joyce Jordan, Neighborhood Centers senior services coordinator as a recipient of its Ready for Life award. The award celebrates direct care workers who are in key positions to help older adults manage the challenges they face and remain “ready for life.”
Jordan joined Neighborhood Centers in 1982, and has worked with seniors since 1986 when she became manager of the Tri-Community Senior Center. Currently, she supervises operations for eight senior centers and provides administrative support for three collaboration sites; yet she is known by co-workers and clients alike for her willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty for seniors.
Ray Chung, CFO of the Year Nominee
 Neighborhood Centers CFO Ray Chung recently was honored by the Houston Business Journal as a nominee for Best CFO of the Year in the Large Non-Profit category. The awards recognize financial professionals who "keep track of the American Dream."
Chung, who joined the Neighborhood Centers executive team in 2005, manages the agency’s $180 million annual budget. He also oversees the agency’s economic development programs for low-income families, including Neighborhood Tax Centers and the NCI Community Development Credit Union.
“The brilliance of Ray’s strategy as CFO is to provide sound financial management and business practices with a focus on bringing more service dollars to the bottom line,” said Angela Blanchard, President and CEO of Neighborhood Centers.
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