Fleetwood Bank and four longtime community members will be honored for their service to the Fleetwood area during the 2027 Fleetwood’s Finest Spring Gala.
Friends of Fleetwood Parks announced Fleetwood Bank as the recipient of the 2027 Fleetwood Cadillac Award for Extraordinary Community Service. Betty and Ray Buss, Michael Mayer and William “Bill” Strause were named recipients of the Fleetwood Hometown Hero Awards.
The awards are part of Fleetwood’s Finest, a biennial celebration recognizing individuals and organizations for their contributions to the community.
“For more than 150 years, Fleetwood has been built by people who understand that a strong community doesn’t just happen—it takes people willing to give their time, talents and resources to make a difference,” Friends of Fleetwood Parks President Patty Keeney said. “Our 2027 Fleetwood’s Finest honorees are wonderful examples of that spirit, and we are excited to give our community the opportunity to celebrate them.”
Fleetwood Bank, founded in Fleetwood in 1907 as The First National Bank in Fleetwood, was selected for the Fleetwood Cadillac Award in recognition of its longstanding involvement in the community.
The bank established its location at Main and Franklin streets in 1921 and expanded over the years to include offices in Kutztown, Lyons, Blandon, Shoemakersville, Wyomissing and Oley. The First National Bank in Fleetwood became Fleetwood Bank in 2006.
“We are truly honored to receive the Fleetwood Cadillac Award,” Fleetwood Bank President and CEO Timothy P. Snyder said. “For more than a century, Fleetwood Bank has been proud to call this community home, and giving back has always been at the heart of who we are.”
Snyder said the recognition belonged to the bank’s past and present employees who have volunteered and supported local organizations.
Betty Buss was selected as a Hometown Hero for decades of service through nursing, her church and other community organizations. After graduating from the Geisinger Hospital School of Nursing, she worked at Reading Hospital and spent 28 years at the Kutztown University Student Health Center.
Buss also provided 13 years of leadership with Camp Fire, taught Sunday School for more than 50 years and served for 25 years in volunteer parish nursing at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. She has also volunteered at the Lutheran Home at Topton and other nursing facilities and is a 10-gallon blood donor.
Her husband, Ray Buss, who died in 2021, was selected posthumously for his contributions to education and athletics.
A U.S. Marine veteran and Penn State graduate, Buss joined Fleetwood High School in 1964, where he taught and coached varsity basketball and boys soccer. He helped establish the Fleetwood Youth Soccer Club around 1970.
His soccer teams won PIAA state championships in 1978 and 1980. Buss was named Berks County Coach of the Year nine times, Pennsylvania State Coach of the Year twice and National Secondary Coach of the Year in 1980. He retired from Fleetwood High School in 1991 with a career soccer record of 512-99-42.
Michael Mayer was selected for his involvement in athletics, local government and community organizations. A lifelong Fleetwood resident and 1975 Fleetwood High School graduate, Mayer served in the U.S. Air Force from shortly after graduation until 1979.
Since 1980, Mayer has served as a PIAA soccer official, including five state championship games. He has also coached basketball and baseball and currently serves as soccer assignor for the Berks County Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Mayer previously served four years on the Fleetwood School Board and currently serves on Fleetwood Borough Council. He has been a member of the Breakfast Brothers since 1980 and serves as president of the Fleetwood Carnival.
Strause was selected for his work preserving Fleetwood history and his involvement in the arts and community.
A Fleetwood High School graduate, Strause earned a civil engineering degree from Lehigh University in 1971 and later became manager of Metropolitan Edison’s Transmission Engineering Department.
In retirement, Strause has created artwork in the community, including stained glass, a Fleetwood Tiger and murals at the Fleetwood Community Center. A longtime member of the Fleetwood Area Historical Society, he has digitized collections of historic photographs and presented programs about local history to community organizations. He is also the owner and caretaker of Fleetwood’s historic 1775 grist mill.
The honorees will be recognized during the Fleetwood’s Finest Spring Gala from 6 to 11 p.m. Saturday, April 3, 2027, at the Fleetwood Fire Company Social Quarters Banquet Hall on Franklin Street.
The event will include red carpet arrivals, dinner, tributes, desserts and dancing with Erich Cawalla and the Uptown Band.
VIP tickets are $75 and include a cocktail hour with the honorees, while general admission tickets are $50. Tickets and additional information are available through Friends of Fleetwood Parks.
