The 2009 Governor’s Points of Light Awards were given out to Nevada citizens at the Atlantis Hotel and Casino on Feb. 26. The criteria for the award are dedication, commitment and determination in promoting and supporting volunteerism within the state of Nevada. The categories were for rural, northern, southern, non-profit, corporate, Nevada youth and Nevada senior. There were 21 people up for individual awards.

The winner in the Nevada senior category was Edward S. Feinhandler, a Sparks resident for the past 29 years and coach of the freshmen boys basketball and boys and girls varsity tennis at Sparks High School for more than 10 years. He also spent five years as a tennis instructor for Sparks Parks and Recreation.

Since 1997, Feinhandler has been teaching free tennis lessons to underprivileged youth through his program Northern Nevada Youth Opportunistic Tennis Program, providing rides and food as well as collecting donated tennis racquets. Later, the Huey Feinhandler Foundation was founded in 2001 and at its peak, 225 children were enrolled in the summer program. The HFF now supplies northern Nevada families and children with emergency food, school clothes, athletic equipment, musical instruments and many other things to help the underprivileged youth of the area.

In 2008, the HFF had expenditures over $150,000 that helped out more than 100 underprivileged families in northern Nevada and countless children.