The Thirteenth Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards honored volunteers from 47 counties on February 7 in a virtual ceremony. The awards celebrated the efforts of 80 volunteers statewide who have strived to improve their communities through service.
One youth and one adult volunteer were selected from participating counties to receive this prestigious award. Two are from Carroll County. The adult nominee is John Sanders of Huntingdon and the youth nominee is Emily Reeves of Clarksburg. Nominees were judged based on the community’s need of the volunteer service performed, initiative taken to perform the service, creativity used to solve a community problem and impact of the volunteer service on the community. The individual awards are sponsored by Piedmont Natural Gas and Terry Silver.
John Sanders – Carroll County Adult Honoree – John Sanders John is willing to give both his time and his talents to several community events and organizations. He has the true volunteer spirit. John is involved in multiple organizations in Carroll County, and has been a member of the Huntingdon City Council for twenty-two years, making him the second-longest serving councilman. As a member of the council, he serves as the liaison to the Industrial Development Board for the Town of Huntingdon. He is a member of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, currently serving as its treasurer. Other groups he serves include Ducks Unlimited as president, Huntingdon FASA girls’ softball as president, Huntingdon Alumni Association as a board member, Relay for Life, First Baptist Church, Never Quit Foundation as a board member, and Huntingdon Lions Club. He assists Relay for Life by cooking fish for the patrons.
Emily Reeves – Carrol County Youth Honoree – Volunteering in the community is just a way of life for Emily Reeves. She volunteers at the Westport fire department fish fry, assists at the Clarksburg Christmas parade, and volunteers to do clean up at the city park. She is also volunteer at school in a variety of ways: She has cleaned the building during summer break; assisted teachers with numerous tasks, and helps with inventory, organize, and stock our school’s food pantry and clothing closet. She is currently one of five students representing my school in the Youth Leadership Carroll County program sponsored by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce. Emily was selected by her classmates from Clarksburg High School to be nominated for this award. To be recognized by your peers is a true testament of the dedication Emily has to her community and Carroll County. She is a wonderful role model of a youth volunteer in Carroll County
The Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards also includes business and non-profit categories. One business and one non-profit were selected from each of Tennessee’s three Grand Regions for their outstanding community involvement and service. The business honorees include, Comcast, East Tennessee Business Honoree; The Surgical Clinic, Middle Tennessee Business Honoree; and Terminix Holdings, West Tennessee Business Honoree. The business awards are sponsored by Advance Financial 24/7. The non-profit honorees include, Senior Citizens Home Assistance Service, East Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; Chapel Hill Lions Club, Middle Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; and Thistle and Bee, West Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree. The non-profit awards are sponsored by Friends of Volunteer Tennessee.
“Each year, 1.6 million Tennessee volunteers give more than 137 million hours of service, contributing the equivalent of $3.3 billion to Tennessee’s economy. By giving of their time and talents to fulfill needs that would otherwise go unmet, they embody the spirit of giving,” said Volunteer Tennessee Executive Director, Jim Snell.
NewsChannel5 weekend anchor, Jennifer Kraus, served as emcee for the event.
Volunteer Tennessee coordinates the Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards at the state level. Volunteer Tennessee is the 25 member, bipartisan citizen board appointed by the Governor to oversee AmeriCorps and service-learning programs and to advance volunteerism and citizen service to solve community problems in the Volunteer State.
