Chamber Awards: Geneseeans of the Year, Batavians Steve and Lisa Grice

Looking back at his formative years, lifelong Batavian Steve “Stump” Grice said the time invested by his buddies’ parents left a lasting impression and helped set him on a course of civic and charitable volunteerism.

“For me, I grew up doing sports and events, and was part of the Ellicott Avenue crew,” Grice said. “I noticed that the fathers of the kids that I hung out with were coaching us, and when I was done with college, I started coaching football.

“Then I got pulled in more and more, and it just kind of clicked. (Volunteering) is like paying a tab … honoring those before us.”

Steve’s wife, the former Lisa Grasso, said was introduced to community service as a Girl Scout and “junior fireman” while growing up in Cheektowaga.

“And after that, when we had our boys (Alex, 24, a special education teacher at Oakfield-Alabama Central School, and Casey, 21, a junior at Brockport State College majoring in Therapeutic Recreation for special needs persons), I started getting involved here,” she said.

Fast forward to 2017, and the Grices have made a tremendous impact upon organizations ranging from Batavia Youth Football to the John Kennedy Home School Association to Genesee Cancer Assistance to the Genesee County/City Youth Bureau to the Batavia Rotary Club to the Genesee County Volunteer Service Tuition Program.

For their efforts, Steve and Lisa have been selected as Geneseeans of the Year by the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce and will be honored at the 45^th annual awards ceremony on March 4 at the Quality Inn & Suites on Park Road.

They were nominated by Chris Suozzi, who serves with Steve on the Board of Directors of Genesee Cancer Assistance.

“I am nominating Steve and Lisa for their combined volunteer efforts to the community for decades. Their tireless efforts go unnoticed and I feel it’s time for us to reward them!”

Both Steve and Lisa, who celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary last Nov. 2, will tell you that the reward is in doing what needs to be done to ensure that a particular organization reaches its goals.

“The satisfaction comes from the end result … knowing that you’ve accomplished something for the community,” Steve said during an interview at their Chase Park home. “Knowing what the dollar amount (raised) means, and that we had goals and hit those goals.

Steve said he was notified of the award on “Friday the 13th” (of January) during a phone call from Mary Blevins, a member of the selection committee.

“At first, I was thinking it was a joke. I was speechless,” Steve said. “When Mary asked me if I wanted to tell my wife or if I wanted her to do it, I said, ‘You better, she won’t believe me.' ”

Lisa said they are humbled by the recognition but admits to being a bit nervous about having to deliver a speech.

“I like to stay behind the scenes,” she said, noting that Steve is the “out-front person” and she handles the duo’s administrative and organizational responsibilities.

Her volunteer resume includes concession stand work for Batavia’s youth baseball leagues, fundraising for the Batavia Basketball Boosters, coordinating the JK Home School Association’s pasta night dinner for seven years through 2007, scheduling and bookkeeping for Batavia Youth Football, serving on the Batavia City Youth Bureau board for four years, assisting the Rotary Club’s Oktoberfest and directing the county volunteer tuition program since 1995.

“I really enjoyed the pasta dinners at JK, especially seeing the dads and moms as waiters and waitresses, and seeing all the kids who wanted to help,” said Lisa, a 28-year Genesee County employee who has served as principal clerk at the highway department for the past four years.

Steve has been involved with Batavia Youth Football for 30 years, has been a Rotarian for 19 years – he is a former Paul Harris Fellow Award winner – and has been with Genesee Cancer Assistance for 15 years -- six of those as a board member. He also coached youth baseball, volunteered for the Michael Napoleone Foundation and rang the bell for the Salvation Army.

A deputy clerk in the Genesee County clerk’s office following a 29-year career in the real estate title insurance/abstract profession, Steve was the Genesee County Adult Volunteer of the Year in 2013 and the City of Batavia Volunteer of the Year in 2014.

He credited his mentor, the late Joe Gerace, with “getting me into a lot of things” and was fortunate to spend time with Gerace.

“We became family,” he said.

Steve said he was glad to see that Gerace, who passed away last November, stayed involved with Genesee Cancer Assistance right to the end.

“Joe was the co-chair of our golf tournament last August, so we had all of our meetings at the VA (Medical Center) every Wednesday so he could continue to be a part of it,” Steve said. “And he made it to the tournament -- ran his putting contest and visited everyone riding on the golf cart.”