Journey award celebration honors Omar Showalter

Omar Showalter is the recipient of the 2024 Everence regional Journey Award in Virginia. This award recognizes Showalter for his years of service and generosity.

Showalter, now 95, has used his lifelong skill of woodworking and engineering to benefit God’s work, others and the world. He received the award at a ceremony in his honor recently at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.

 “Omar has given his time and skills for decades, and he is an inspiration to many generations of people who have encountered him and learned of his story,” said Lana Miller, Everence Stewardship Consultant, at Showalter’s award ceremony.

Created in 2001, the Journey Award is a way for Everence to highlight what people of faith are doing as stewards of their God-given gifts.

For years, Showalter has crafted numerous furniture items for the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale, which supports the work of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). He often crafts furniture items for friends and family, and declines payment, instead encouraging donations to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) and other organizations in the area.

 For more than 25 years, Showalter volunteered at Gift and Thrift, a thrift store in Harrisonburg, and used his skills, as well as his faith, to help the organization with its daily operations. Many of his creations – bookcases, display areas and dollies – are still used by Gift and Thrift, as well as other MCC-affiliated thrift shops across the U.S.

Today, as a resident of VMRC, Showalter is well-known for his leadership within the retirement community. Showalter’s grandfather had the founding vision for VMRC, and he has worked hard to continue his grandfather’s legacy through his own stewardship and by inspiring the same in others.

As part of his award, Everence donated $1,000 to the organization of Showalter’s choosing, Virginia Mennonite Missions