Joyce DeRenzy and Mark Spenny will be recognized with the Common Place “Love in Action” Award at the 6th Annual Common Place Love in Action Award Dinner at the Par-a-Dice Hotel on Thursday, June 21.

Common Place Family Learning Center, a social service organization whose mission is to strive to eliminate the root causes of poverty and other social injustices, first created the award in 2007 to honor a person(s) from the community who supports the Common Place mission and has made a lasting difference in our community in the areas of justice, community organizing, neighborhood development/stabilization, education, or literacy.

Faced with a tie, the panel of judges chose to honor both Ms. DeRenzy and Mr. Spenny as the nominees whose service to the community exemplifies the Common Place mission. Ms. DeRenzy is currently the Director of Senior and Violence Intervention Services at the Center for Prevention of Abuse. She oversees the Family Violence Intervention Project (FVIP) and Step Up!  Ms. DeRenzy uses her passion and talents with public speaking engagements and designing and implementing trainings, bringing the important message of safety and awareness to varied audiences throughout the state.

Mr. Spenny is the President at CEFCU, Board Chairman of the American Red Cross Central Illinois Chapter, and secretary of the board of the St. Francis Medical Center Community Advisory Board. He also serves on the Eureka College Board of Directors, chairs the Heartland Partnership Board and the CEO roundtable.  Mark and his wife, Renee, chaired the Heart of Illinois United Way Annual Campaign in 2010, and Mark has served on the City of Peoria’s Neighborhood Development Commission. He was a member of Common Place Board of Governors serving for six years, the last three as Chairperson.

The June 21st dinner will honor both Joyce and Mark as the “2012 Love in Action” Award recipients and will also help support the Common Place literacy programs for children, adults and families.

Tickets for the Common Place Love in Action Award Dinner are $60 per person. For reservations, call Stephanie at Common Place at 674-3315. Deadline for reservations is June 7. Reception hour will start at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and program beginning at 6:30 p.m.