Members of the Mesa Citizen of the Year Association met in November to choose Mesa’s 2024 Citizens of the Year. Jenny Richardson was chosen as Woman of the Year and Bill Peters as Man of the Year.
Jenny Montague Richardson is a Mesa native and has been a longtime community activist in her northwest Mesa neighborhood. Jenny and her husband, Randy, have six children who all attended Mesa Public Schools. Jenny was active in the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and as a classroom volunteer in her children’s schools. She is a natural leader who usually assumed a leadership position in school organizations. Jenny also volunteered on the Citizens Committees that have been formed over the years to support and promote school district bond and override elections. No committee task was too small for her, and she led numerous community educational forums on these critical election issues.
Ultimately, she chose to run for election to the Mesa School Board and was elected twice in 2014 and 2018. She served as Governing Board President three times during her tenure.
As several of her fellow governing Board members are quick to note, she and the Board made hundreds of decisions during her tenure, and she never shirked her responsibility to make the best decision for the thousands of students in the district.
As a Mesa Public School graduate, parent and grandparent, she was, and still is, a positive voice in the schools and community at large. She has a keen sense of what will work best for parents, students, and district staff and continues to volunteer in her neighborhood schools and in community literacy programs.
Bill Peters is a long-time resident of the East Valley and has served as a member of the Mesa Police
Department for more than 34 years. He has held numerous positions in the police department and is currently a lieutenant. He is married to Lesley, and they are the proud parents of two grown sons.
During his tenure with the police department, Bill has been an active volunteer in several community organizations. These include the Special Olympics Arizona and the Arizona Torch Run (LETR).
Bill helps assist in the fundraising activities of the LETR, who annually raise over a million dollars to support the Special Olympic Program and athletes. He is an active Rotarian who assists with the many community projects of the Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club. He was named Rotarian of the Year in 2023/24.
Bill also volunteers his time to promote and support the Children’s Benefit Foundation’s annual Week Without Violence campaign, supports the House of Refuge programs, Paz De Christo feeding activities, and others.
One of his activities is a little-known Hospice of the Valley program called the Final Salute. In this program, he works with others to ensure that gravely ill veterans and first
responders are formally recognized before their passing. Finally, he and others helped raise funds for a memorial statue at the Mesa Police Department building to recognize fallen officers.
Bill’s volunteer activities are more than exemplary although he is a humble individual who does not seek recognition for his actions. He is quick to give credit to others. As one of the many individuals who know of his work stated, “While Bill’s years of service with the Mesa Police Department is impressive (not to mention his military service), his community service stands apart from his professional work. He has devoted himself over the years to volunteer efforts that have no connection to his job.”
The Mesa Citizen of the Year Association is one of the oldest groups of its kind in the State of Arizona. Founded in 1935, the organization annually selects two individuals in the community who have dedicated a significant amount of time to volunteer activities.
Many awardees have exemplified a long-standing commitment to volunteer activities and leadership. The group also promotes the need for residents to be involved in the wide breadth of volunteer activities in Mesa and the positive impact that volunteerism has on the wellbeing of Mesa’s residents and neighborhoods. More recently, the Association has also recognized Mesa Public Schools graduating seniors who have provided exemplary volunteer service in their school and the community.
This year’s award recipients will be honored at the Association’s Annual Banquet on Feb. 25 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott, 200 N. Centennial Way, in Mesa. This community celebration of volunteerism will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner.
To purchase banquet tickets, please visit mesacitizenoftheyear.org or contact Debby Elliot at (480) 969-2731.