Two individuals and four organizations were honored Thursday for their philanthropic achievements and commitment at an Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) awards event.

Attendees at the Cape Fear Region chapter of AFP’s annual National Philanthropy Day Awards Breakfast filled University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Warwick Center to celebrate the impact of the nonprofit community on the area and recognize the winners of this year’s awards.

Recipient of the Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year award was Denise Szaloky, who has provided leadership for Wilmington Health Access for Teens’ (WHAT) major fundraising events. She has also been active in many civic and New Hanover County Schools initiatives.

Other nominees in this category and the organizations for which they have advocated were: Denise Darden (Habitat for Humanity), Dick Johnston (Bald Head Island Conservancy), Brian Moxey (New Year’s Day Dolphin Dip) and Dick Nasca (Good Shepherd Center).

First Federal Bank, recognized for its support of a variety of nonprofit initiatives throughout the region, topped the list of Philanthropic Organization of the Year nominees. Other nominees praised for their charitable support were Live Oak Real Estate, Landfall Foundation, Cape Fear Garden Club and Capt’n Bill’s Backyard Grill.

The Student/Youth Fundraiser of the Year award went to the Hoggard High School Art Club, represented by its president, Katy Hufham. For four years, the club has made and sold greeting cards and have donated the proceeds – $3,262 to date – to the Cameron Art Museum clay studio.

The other nominees in this category were the UNCW Habitat for Humanity chapter and Hoggard High School Beta Club.

Professional Fundraising Executive of the Year award was given to Kitty Yerkes, development director of Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity. Prior to coming to Habitat seven years ago, she spent six years in development for Domestic Violence Shelter and Services and five years at the Senior Wellness Program at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

Yerkes, whose nomination submission stated, “For the past two decades, Kitty has been among the most visible proponents of development and fundraising in our community,” was the only nominee in the professional category.

The Airlie Gardens Foundation received the award for Fundraising Board of the Year for adding $2 million in the recent past to the foundation’s endowment, significantly expanding the foundation’s three signature fundraising events and raising the gardens’ tourism profile. The boards of Coastal Horizons Inc. and the Willie Stargell Foundation were also nominated for this award.

Three individuals were nominated for Philanthropist of the Year: Katherine McKenzie, John Montieth and Jessica Watson. The award went to Monteith, who has used his personal resources to establish and manage a camp for underprivileged children and is active with Brigade Boys and Girls Club, Miracle Field and Betty H. Cameron Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

Keynote speaker for the breakfast was Chad Porter, a financial advisor and motivational speaker. Porter used his personal story of overcoming adversity to encourage others to live every day to the fullest.

“Take advantage of today; there is no guarantee of tomorrow,” he said. “As the Eagle Scouts say, ‘Leave your campsite better than you found it.’”

Porter told his listeners at the breakfast, as he does his audiences at schools and other organizations, that no matter how bad a person’s situation, “unless you are dead, you are still in the game.”