Guckenberger, 69, of Appleton, received the 2000 Janet Berry Volunteer of the Year award for his work with the Salvation Army, Thompson Community Center and other community groups serving the elderly.

“You have to give and you have to expect nothing back in return,” Guckenberger said in 2000 upon receiving the Janet Berry Award, sponsored by The Post-Crescent and the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region Inc.

For nearly a decade, Guckenberger cooked meals for thousands of less fortunate residents at the Salvation Army in Appleton.

He reinstituted a traditional Thanksgiving meal, which he cooked.

“He did all the planning, got the food and organized all the volunteers,” said Pat Leigl, social services director for the Salvation Army.

Leigl said Guckenberger “helped show people whom we work with that other people in the community care.”

In his decade as a nearly full-time volunteer, Guckenberger worked with the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation and the organization’s Jail and Bail and WalkAmerica programs. A long-time member of the Appleton Golden Kiwanis, Guckenberger also volunteered at the Appleton Medical Center and Appleton Parks and Recreation Department.

A retired engineer from American National Can Inc., Guckenberger was instrumental in the construction of a kitchen at the Thompson Community Center, which serves older adults.

“He knew every piece of equipment in the kitchen,” said Thompson manager Mark Ziemer. “He helped pick it all out and made sure it was simple so all the volunteer hands in the kitchen would find it user friendly.”

Guckenberger put together a 20-person kitchen team through the Volunteer Center of East Central Wisconsin’s Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).