Bob Tankard will receive the Art Buchwald Award for Outstanding Community Service at Martha’s Vineyard Community Services’ 46th annual Possible Dreams Auction on July 21.

The award, named after the former Washington Post journalist and longtime host of Possible Dreams, honors those who have proved a longtime commitment to helping the Island community.

“[Mr. Tankard’s] generous spirit is quite known to Islanders,” said Beth Folcarelli, CEO of Community Services. “He’s extraordinarily kind and looks out for his neighbors.”

Mr. Tankard moved to the Vineyard when he was 15 years old and graduated from the regional high school in 1964. He served in Korea during the Vietnam War and has been working for the past five years as the veterans outreach coordinator for Community Services. He has spent his career on the Island as an educator, teaching physical education and eventually becoming principal of the West Tisbury School. He was also the coach the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School football team in the 1980s and chaired the Cape Cod Collaborative, a committee that provides education resources for students on Cape Cod and the Islands.

“It is no surprise how beloved he is to those who have had the pleasure to join Bob in service, whether in the classroom, on the football field, at the Board table, or in a group counseling session,” Ms. Folcarelli wrote in a press release.

The award was decided by a committee of 12, composed of members of the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services board of directors, other staff and community members. 

“When [Mr. Tankard] was entered into the committee process, there was zero hesitancy,” Ms. Folcarelli said.

Comedian and Late Night host Seth Meyers will once again host Possible Dreams at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort.