The CEO and President of Live Civilly has worked hard to give back to her community.
At just 9 months old, Kahra Buss and her family moved to Moorestown, and ever since she has come to call the “old-fashioned town” home. After years of doing her part to give back to her community and remain engaged around town, Buss was recently named Moorestown’s 2017 “Citizen of the Year.”
Buss, a 1988 Moorestown High School graduate left Moorestown to pursue her bachelor’s degree and career and then accompanied her husband, Joe, a fellow MHS grad, during his career in the US Marine Corps. The couple of 22 years chose to return to their roots to begin a family. Today, their three daughters, Anna, Grace and Abigail, have also grown up in the Moorestown Township Public Schools, and have been able to witness their mother spearhead a major community-wide organization.
“I was stunned and truly honored to be selected as ‘Citizen of the Year,’ and by the list of recipients that have gone before me,” Buss said. “The list of previous recipients is long and impressive, full of true game changers and leaving me with big shoes to fill. I’m humbled to now be included in this list.”
Announced annually by the Moorestown Service Clubs Council, which is comprised of the Rotary Lunch and Breakfast clubs, The Lions Club and the Y Service Club, nominations for the “Citizen of the Year” were accepted until Dec. 1. To be nominated, the Moorestown Service Club Council expressed that nominees should be Moorestown residents, involved in community service, make contributions through public service, take part in multiple and various volunteer efforts and have received previous honors, awards and citations for their community contributions.
In its 63rd year, the Moorestown Service Club Council’s selection of Buss stemmed from her passion for connecting with both her community and residents. As the CEO and president of Live Civilly, a non profit organization that partners with the Department of Parks and Recreation to provide nutritional and educational services to the community’s youth, Buss has helped to find solutions to the growing crises of homelessness and hunger. Other accomplishments she said she deems significant include:
• Graduate, Bucknell University (1992)
• Wife of 24 years and mother of “three lovely young women”
• 2015 Christian Women United (local chapter) Woman of the Year
• As the president/CEO of Live Civilly she has had the “great fortune of working with an exceptional group of people who have facilitated the numerous programs and services that the organization provides.”
• As for Live Civilly — it has received the 2016 Humanitarian Organization of the Year from the Burlington County Chapter of the NAACP and the 2016 Tikkun Olam Award from the Moorestown Jewish Association.
Buss believes her selection as “Citizen of the Year” may very well have been influenced by her work with Live Civilly for the past five years. However, she wishes to make the public aware that, while she is often the group’s public interface, the work of the organization is by no means hers alone. Instead, the number of people, names and faces the group works with all contribute to its success.
“There’s many different levels of community, and when I think of community here in Moorestown, I think of all the many individuals that make the community what it is,” Buss said. “The success of a community is based on the willingness of its citizens to get involved and to be engaged in doing things for the betterment of the community.”
She went on to explain that while Moorestown already has a reputation for having an extremely engaged community, it’s each resident’s civic duty to actively participate around town. Honored to be a part of the Moorestown community, Buss stressed that “just showing up isn’t enough” — everyone should seek to be an active part of their community.
As “Citizen of the Year,” Buss’ only outstanding requirement is she ride in the annual Moorestown Holiday Parade next December. Additionally, when asked “what’s next?” Buss responded by saying, “Life is next. We have a great gift we’re given everyday to just get up and do the best we can and impact the people around us the best we can. I’m going to keep going.”
To help acknowledge and celebrate her award, the community is invited to join the Moorestown Service Club Council on Wednesday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m., as it honors Buss and all she has done for the community during a “Citizen of the Year” dinner. Tickets to the event are $55 and are available at the Moorestown Community House, located at 16 E. Main St.
