TROY – Members of a local Weed & Seed committee were recently became the recipients of national awards for their continued dedication to local needs.

Local program director Colleen Goldston and members of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program where recognized during the national Weed & Seed conference attended by the West Side Waterfront Weed & Seed Steering Committee.

Goldston, a community police officer who serves as director of the local program, received the Tenure Award for Site Directors for her nine years of service to the community, while members of the VITA program were give the Coordination Honor Award by the Community Capacity Development Office, a program office of the Department of Justice which hosted the conference.

The conference was also attended by Agnes Zink, of the Roarke Center, Bill Roehr, the city’s grants writer, and steering committee secretary Anthony DeFiglio, who gave a presentation with Goldston on “Crime Prevention through Environmental Design.”

More information on the awards and the conference can be found at www.ccdoconferencejournal.org.