NASHVILLE — The Twelfth Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards ceremony will honor volunteers from 69 counties in Franklin on February 9.  The awards will celebrate the efforts of 115 volunteers statewide who have strived to improve their communities through service.  Miss Tennessee Volunteer 2019, Kerri Arnold, will present the awards, and NewsChannel5 weekend anchor, Jennifer Kraus, will serve as emcee for the event. 

One youth and one adult volunteer were selected from participating counties to receive this prestigious award. 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 Community Care of Rutherford County and Tennessee 4-H.

Ronda Paulson — Carter County Adult Honoree — In 2014, Corey and Ronda Paulson attended foster parent training at a local DCS office and learned that children must await placement for hours or sometimes a full day there. Ronda couldn’t imagine a scared child waiting in such a sterile environment. A year later, Corey and Ronda were asked to come to the back door of the DCS office to receive their foster child who was in clothes that were too small and had nothing to his name. Ronda felt led to create a new space for the children. Today, thanks to Ronda, there are three nonprofit Isaiah 117 Houses in East Tennessee. These spaces allow children to receive comfort and care while DCS staff complete necessary paperwork and identify a proper placement. Friendly volunteers at Isaiah 117 houses provide clean clothes, toys, blankets, smiles and more to foster children.

Carlee Sullins — Carter County Youth Honoree — Carlee is a senior at Elizabethton High in Elizabethton. She is Senior Class President and serves on the executive board of her school’s Student Government Association. She is a member of the National Honor Society, a varsity cheerleader, editor of her high school yearbook, and has a perfect 4.0 GPA. Carlee recently won a preliminary to the official Miss Tennessee 2.0 Pageant in 2020. She was crowned Miss Volunteer 2.0. Carlee works to raise awareness about living with kidney disease, as she was diagnosed in 2012 with Nephrotic Syndrome C1Q Nephropathy. She has worked with the National Kidney Foundation raising money at local kidney walks and educating people about this disease that is often unseen and sometimes unbelieved. Carlee loves being out in her community and volunteering as much as possible.

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: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, East Tennessee Business Honoree; Southeast Venture, Middle Tennessee Business Honoree; and Medtronic, West Tennessee Business Honoree. The business awards are sponsored by Advance Financial. The non-profit honorees include: Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, East Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, Middle Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; and Beautiful Spirited Women, West Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree. The non-profit awards are sponsored by Friends of Volunteer Tennessee.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee — East Tennessee Business Honoree — BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) is committed to improving Tennesseans’ health and well being, which extends to their philanthropic and volunteer focus areas. This means making sure their neighbors have enough food, providing outdoor spaces where they can be active and build relationships, and supporting education to strengthen communities for the next generation. BCBST TeamBlue volunteers stay committed to Chattanooga area through projects such as painting the BlueCross Technology Academy at Red Bank High School, cleaning and organizing the shop at the Habitat for Humanity Restore and organizing a food drive benefitting the Chattanooga Area Food Bank. BCBST utilizes its online portal, TeamBlue Connect, to allow employees to easily search and sign up for activities, track hours, and share experiences. In 2019, TeamBlue volunteers participated in 320 service activities for 557 organizations across the state and contributed more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service.

Centro Hispano de East Tennessee — East Tennessee Nonprofit Honoree — Centro’s mission is to connect, integrate and empower the Latino community through education and engagement; information and referral services; and community strengthening initiatives. And, the agency serves as Knox County’s hub for bi-lingual volunteer services and abridge for English speaking non-profits, businesses, and government agencies to connect to the Hispanic community. Centro leverages approximately 200 volunteers to serve in the local community as tutors and facilitators in the agency’s workforce development, health education and youth education programs. In Centro’s expanding partnership with Knox County Schools (KCS) and United Way, 80 volunteers received orientation and training to assist in afterschool enrichment and tutoring programs at elementary schools. These volunteers permit KCS to communicate with Latino parents with limited English skills, educate parents about their children’s school, and help close the achievement gap for Latino students.

“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. They are the backbone of our great state, and by giving of their time and talents to fulfill needs that would otherwise go unmet, they truly embody the spirit of giving,” said Volunteer Tennessee Executive Director Jim Snell.

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.