Outstanding volunteer teams and individuals were recognized April 24 at the 27th annual BB&T Volunteer of the Year Awards at the Bob Kirby Branch of the Warren County Public Library. The following individuals and groups were recognized for their service.
Anne Grubbs Spirit of Service Award: Ernie Phelps
This award recognizes individuals who excel in quality, length and spirit of service to others. Ernie Phelps began volunteering at New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding (NBTR) in 2008 and is instrumental in helping NBTR achieve its mission of providing therapeutic horse-riding lessons to individuals with behavioral, mental, and physical disabilities. NBTR’s jack-of-all-trades, Ernie comes in early to feed, water, and muck 12 horses. He hauls hay and feed, repairs fences, and does what needs to be done to help make NBTR successful. He often stays to help the disabled riders.
Team Spirit Award: Saturday Meals
This award recognizes groups who work together to provide service in the community. Utilizing the kitchen at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the Saturday Meals program provides some 300 nutritious meals to persons in need each Saturday. Using donated summer produce and ingredients purchased through Feeding America and local grocery stores, Saturday Meals volunteers prepare the hot meals and deliver them throughout the community. The recipients of these free meals are low-income individuals and families, including many shut-ins. Saturday Meals has also begun preparing meals for some homeless persons in Bowling Green.
This award recognizes an individual or group who is new to volunteering, starting their service with an organization during the last 24 months. Though only a teenager, Presley Nash has a list of volunteer achievements that few adults can match. She collects and donates items to children in foster care, bakes cookies for CASA bake sales, volunteers at the Kiwanis Club’s ThunderFest, and makes and sells bracelets to benefit a children’s hospital. Perhaps her most impressive volunteer activity is creating Presley’s Promise Homeless Outreach, forgoing her own Christmas gifts so she can donate to the homeless. She continues to help the homeless through the Salvation Army, Room in the Inn, and other organizations.
BB&T Spirit of Community Award: Chick-fil-A
This award recognizes an organization or business that merits special recognition for volunteer service in the community. Chick-fil-A in Bowling Green has assisted many community organizations through donations of food or money. Among the events and organizations that Chick-fil-A has assisted: Community Education’s Spellabration, Empty Bowls, Teen Angel Donation Blast, Run/Walk for Children, and Leadership Bowling Green.
Other outstanding volunteers recognized at the event include Anice Bishop, Judy Cothern, Vivian Foe, Eloise Hadden, Amy Milliken, Ed Moody, K.C. Moody, Jimmy Nyunt, Celebration Cakes Ministry, Houchens Center Board, SKyPAC Ambassadors, Starbucks on Scottsville Road, Beth Fiss, Greenwood High School Action Team, Judy Sampson, and Adaline Wakefield. Volunteers in Action is made up of a core group of diverse agencies and organizations that rely on the dedication and commitment of community volunteers. For more information on VIA or the VIA Volunteer of the Year Awards, contact Debi Wade Jordan at (270) 842-4281 or [email protected].