Smith/Lowe Among Those Being Honored At First Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards

Nashville, TN (2008-10-21) On Monday, October 27, 2008, Volunteer Tennessee will present the First Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards during a reception in Nashville. The awards honor 65 outstanding adult and youth volunteers from across Tennessee who strive to improve their communities through service. Two Scott County residents will be among those honored.

Scott County volunteers Vivian Smith and Kate Lowe will represent our community at the first-ever Volunteer Stars Awards dinner in Nashville on Monday. Mayor Rick Keeton, the Scott County Board of County Commissioners and a special Volunteer Stars Advisory Panel selected the pair last summer. Criteria for their selection included: 1) the community’s need of the volunteer service performed, 2) the initiative taken to perform the service, and 3) the impact of the volunteer service on the community.

Smith is a current member of the Scott County Board of Education, where she became the first Scott County in history to attain Level Five Master Status. During her tenure on the board, she has also been honored with the National School Board Recognition Award and served on the All-Tennessee School Board. Vivian devotes countless hours of her personal time to a wide range of regional and community-based volunteer organizations, including service to the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, Appalachia Habitat for Humanity, Scott County Finance Committee and Scott County Fairest of the Fair Committee. She is current serving on the Advisory Boards of the Scott County Museum, Tennessee Technology Cosmetology Program and the Tennessee Scholars Program. In 2006, she was inducted into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame, being honored as the year’s Community Volunteer.

Lowe, who was nominated in the youth category, is a senior at Scott High School. She is a member of the Lady Highlanders basketball, soccer and cross-country teams. In school, she is also a member of the Beta Club, an organization that performs numerous community service projects throughout the year. She is active in the community, particularly in the county’s litter prevention, clean up and education program, where she and her mother pick up litter throughout the year. She is also a volunteer at the St. Mary’s Medical Center of Scott County.

“The task of caring for the disadvantaged, the sick, the hungry, and our environment would be impossible without the energy and dedication of volunteers,” said Governor Phil Bredesen. “I am proud to acknowledge these 65 honorees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and shown a remarkable amount of dedication to their state and their fellow Tennesseans.”

The awards will take place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. CDT in the Tennessee Room of the William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower. NewsChannel 5 Anchor Vicki Yates will emcee. Other VIPs in attendance to include: State Senators Douglas Henry, Bill Ketron, Lowe Finney, and Jim Tracy; State Representatives Gary Odom, Chris Crider, Bill Harmon, Gerald McCormick, William “Butch Borchert, Jimmy Eldridge, Tom DuBois, Jimmy Matlock, Joe Pitts, Les Winningham, G.A. Hardaway, Ron Lollar and Karen Camper; and Governor’s Cabinet members Viola Miller, Tim Webb, Deborah Story, Jim Fyke, and John Keys.

The awards’ Three-Star sponsors include the Holiday Inn Express – Nashville Downtown, the Kiwanis Club of Nashville, the Lions Club of Brentwood and the Nashville Artist Guild.

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.