Local Volunteers Honored at MVI Banquet

Award ceremony at Palisades recognizes those who put ‘positive beliefs into action’

By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
October 27, 2025
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Conflict of Interest Disclosure: The author of this piece has a conflict of interest. See Editor’s Note.

Homestead-based Mon Valley Initiative held its 37th annual community awards dinner at the Palisades Ballroom, Downtown. (Tube City Almanac photo)

At a time when many Americans are struggling to feel a sense of unity and purpose, the volunteers of the Mon Valley’s many non-profits have created “a very unique hub.”

“The way the world is, we struggle so hard to find community,” said April Hoover, chief financial officer of Mon Valley Initiative, during that organization’s 37th annual awards banquet. “So I want to remind you that this is a community. Tap into the other people in this room. Just remember, where there is service, where there is hope, lasting impact can happen.”

More than 200 people attended the event at the Palisades Ballroom in Downtown McKeesport. Awards were presented to three individuals and four Mon-Yough area organizations.

Founded in 1988 and based in Homestead, Mon Valley Initiative provides real-estate and community development services, workforce development and pre-purchase housing counseling to communities in Allegheny, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

In 2022, MVI opened its largest housing complex to date, the 49-unit Clairton Inn apartments in that city’s business district. The organization also has developed owner-occupied houses for sale in Braddock, Homestead, Munhall and other communities.

Laura R. Zinski (left), Mon Valley Initiative chief executive officer, presented MVI’s H. John Heinz Award for Community Service to Lauri K. Fink, senior program officer at Hillman Family Foundations. (Tube City Almanac photo)

Lauri K. Fink, senior program officer at Hillman Family Foundations, was presented with the H. John Heinz Award for Community Service, named for the late U.S. Sen. John Heinz III, who died in 1991.

The Hillman foundations have been a steadfast supporter of MVI for decades, said Laura R. Zinski, MVI chief executive officer, who said that Heinz was an advocate of “putting positive beliefs into action” and that Fink has followed his example.

“If I had to sum up Lauri’s career in two words, they would be ‘curious’ and ‘caring,’” Zinski said. “Lauri really cares about the people and the communities in this valley. She has advocated for investments in these communities and she wants to do more.”

Zinski said that when MVI is reaching out to potential donors to see if they will support upcoming projects, not everyone wants to hear the whole story, “but Lauri does.”

Accepting the award, Fink praised the “resilience, spirit and strength” of the Mon Valley and its residents. “The Mon Valley has weathered profound changes and yet its spirit was unshaken, and that‘s what makes it worthy of continued investment,” Fink said. “I thank you for letting me be a very small part of this community.”

From left, MVI’s Zinski; Karen Levin, board member, Dress for Success Pittsburgh; Liz Mims, DFS director of community engagement; Harriett Riley, DFS mobile services lead; and Tanya Vokes, DFS chief executive officer. (Tube City Almanac photo)

MVI’s Regional Partnership Award was presented to Dress for Success Pittsburgh. The organization has partnered with MVI to provide clothing and accessories to women who are re-entering the workforce.

Dress for Success works to create safe spaces for women who are re-entering the workforce “no matter where they are on their journey,” said Tanya Vokes, DFS chief executive officer.

“It is a real privilege and a real gift to be part of the solution,” she said, “to be able to tell people what they are in a world that will continue to tell them what they are not.” Vokes was joined on stage by DFS board member Karen Levin; Harriett Riley, mobile services lead; Liz Mims, director of community engagement.

Community Partner of the Year Awards were presented to:

Mallory Crawford, who was nominated by Downtown West Newton Inc. for her efforts to revitalize the West Newton Farmer’s Market;

Eastern Regional police Officer Pedro Valles, who was nominated by Braddock Economic Development Corp. for serving as a school resource officer and mentor;

Richard L. Ferguson American Legion Post No. 527 of East Pittsburgh, which was nominated for hosting and supporting that borough’s community events; 

Swissvale Presbyterian Church, nominated by Swissvale Economic Development Corp. for its outreach to the surrounding neighborhood; and

Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, nominated for its Community Connections Program, which provides information about food assistance options and refers people to other agencies for additional support.

Also honored were retiring MVI board member Barbara La Face of West Newton; outgoing community investment fund member Harold Hribal; and John Bachetti, MVI senior construction manager, who is celebrating his 25th year with the organization.

Hoover, who served as the evening’s emcee, said MVI has endured because it has built trust with many other Mon Valley based non-profits.

“Trust comes from actually getting the voices of our communities, listening to each other’s lived experiences, sitting with the discomfort that will come from it, and making a plan to act,” she said. “We all work toward and for positive change and we all work to leave the world a little better than how we found it.”

Editor’s Note: The author of this piece was an employee of Mon Valley Initiative from 2016 to 2022.

Originally published October 27, 2025.

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