Catholic Community Services Humanitarian Awards annual dinner honors philanthropists

Intermountain Catholic

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Frank Layden, retired president of the Jazz, calls his wife, Barbara, one of his heroes, and credits her for his successes.

SALT LAKE CITY — At first glance, Frank and Barbara Layden have little in common with Armani McFarland.

The Laydens are grandparents. Frank Layden is a nationally known professional basketball coach and retired president of the Jazz NBA team; his wife spent years counseling women with substance abuse problems.

McFarland, on the other hand, is an elementary student.

What binds them together is a love of giving and desire to help those less fortunate than themselves. For that, they were honored Oct. 24 at the annual Catholic Community Services Humanitarian Awards Dinner. The Laydens were named the 2013 Humanitarians of the Year; McFarland received the Unsung Hero award.

The Laydens "dedicated themselves to helping the poor and vulnerable. Frank and Barbara have worked extensively to make their community a better place by supporting numerous charitable causes," reads the awards program in part.

In accepting the award, Barbara Layden said she was grateful for the help her family received from Catholic charities and her parish after her father died when she was 4.

Frank Layden’s 15-minute acceptance speech was filled with humor that kept the audience laughing, starting with his first line. Holding up the award, a silver bowl, he said, "I understand you have to win this three years in a row to get permanent possession."

He credited his father – his mother died when he was born – with teaching him gratitude and service to others. A second-generation Irish Catholic with a sixth-grade education, the elder Layden worked on the docks but "he taught us … don’t be afraid to serve and to help others, and that’s what he seemed to do in what little spare time that he had," Frank Layden said.

Frank Layden said he and his wife of 57 years "were blessed. … Our table was full. We had a lot of privileges – good health, good friends, good jobs, and why wouldn’t we try to share those? Share not only our skills but our knowledge and in any way help those who might be less fortunate than ourselves."

Frank Layden said he was grateful and gratified that he and his wife were honored with the award, but "there are many, many people out there in this audience, that live in this community, that deserve this award more than Barbara and I," he said. "I don’t think we deserve it because Barbara and I, all of our married lives … we just tried to do the right thing."

Perhaps not surprisingly, both Frank Layden and McFarland invoked Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in their comments.

McFarland, who is 10, has organized seven donation drives in the past two years to collect food for the food bank, backpacks for disadvantaged students and stuffed animals for emergency responders to give to children in traumatic situations.

Recalling Mother Teresa’s description of herself as a pencil in God’s hand, McFarland said, "I want nothing more than to be God’s little pencil."

Like Frank Layden, the audience warmed to McFarland from the beginning of her speech; she thanked everyone who had helped with her projects, starting with "thanking my mom and dad, who helped me plan, organize and drove me around for all my drives, projects and my volunteering."

She enjoys getting her friends and classmates to join her in her volunteering, she said. "I think it’s so important for people to know that it doesn’t matter how young or how old you are, if it’s just you or if you have 100 friends that want to help you. Anyone can help make a difference. God wants us to help those who can’t help themselves. … I believe that by giving just a little bit of your time you can make a big difference in the lives of others."

Also honored at the banquet were the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Humanitarians award; the University of Utah’s Lowell Bennion Community Service Center, as Partner of the Year; the 2013 CCS Employee of the Year was Jeff Bailey.

In the closing remarks, the Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City, reminded those present that "We are called to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ risen from the dead, and this is precisely what Catholic Community Services does in our midst, and what you do through them and in so many other ways to proclaim the good news in our community. … Thank you, each and every one of you, for taking the time and making the sacrifice to proclaim this good news through your generosity to Catholic Community Services."