Congressman Hal Rogers, who co-founded PRIDE, presented the PRIDE Volunteer of the Month Award to Kelly Scott, the Pikeville High School teacher who sponsors the school’s Panther PRIDE Club.

Pikeville High School teacher Kelly Scott has been named southern and eastern Kentucky’s PRIDE Volunteer of the Month for November 2014.

She earned the award for devoting extra hours and effort to sponsor the school’s Panther PRIDE Club in cleanup and education projects that benefit students and the community.

Scott received the award on Oct. 9 from Congressman Hal Rogers, who co-founded PRIDE in 1997.

“Kelly Scott has served as an energetic advocate for environmental education in Pikeville, both in the schools and the community,” said Rogers. “Pikeville High School is one of only four schools in Kentucky to be named a ‘Model Green and Healthy School’ and Ms. Scott’s leadership was instrumental in obtaining that distinguished designation. Her efforts are making a great difference in Pikeville.”

The service-oriented Panther PRIDE Club is active throughout the school year in both cleanups and environmental education. For the past three years, the club has conducted cleanups on and off campus, focusing on the scenic Pikeville River Trail and the Pikeville Pond. A total of 125 volunteers have donated more than 200 hours of service and picked up over 250 bags of trash.

The students educate the school and public about recycling. On America Recycles Day, the club passes out information and sponsors events at the high school. They mentor elementary school students by teaching them about the importance of recycling and establishing a garden for the students at the elementary school. The club members also placed “save energy” and “conserve water” stickers throughout all the buildings in the district.

Scott also is responsible for leading Pikeville High School to earn the status of “Model Green and Healthy School.” This is the highest level of achievement in the state’s Green and Healthy Schools Program, which rewards students for developing and implementing improvements in their schools. Pikeville High School is one of only four schools in Kentucky to earn the title of Model Green and Health School.

The PRIDE Volunteer of the Month program recognizes hard work and dedication to the PRIDE initiative, which promotes environmental education and cleanup efforts in a 42-county region. With corporate sponsorship from TECO Coal, WYMT-TV airs commercials about each PRIDE Volunteer of the Month.

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