April 2011: Pine Knot Job Corps, McCreary County
June 8, 2011 by crd_admin
PRIDE’s Tammie Wilson with Robert Ledford, Center Director of the Pine Knot Job Corps, and Jack Koger, McCreary County PRIDE Co-Coordinator.
For dedication to serving their community with PRIDE, the Pine Knot Job Corps has earned southern and eastern Kentucky’s PRIDE Volunteer of the Month Award for April 2011.
“You are such an asset to our community, and we appreciate you,” said PRIDE’s Mark Davis. He and Tammie Wilson of PRIDE presented the award yesterday at the Pine Knot Job Corps Center.
“Students, thank you for working tirelessly to keep our area’s beautiful scenery looking its best,” Davis said. “You are making a visible difference in your community, and I hope you are having fun and creating life-long memories along the way.”
“I thank the Job Corps leadership for building PRIDE into their program for promoting community service and environmental awareness,” Davis continued. “Volunteering is a great learning experience for people of all ages. It’s a wonderful feeling to see the area you just cleaned and know you accomplished something. And, taking care of the environment makes you more aware of its value.”
The Pine Knot Job Corps volunteers regularly for PRIDE cleanup events in the area. So far this year, the Job Corps volunteers have picked up trash during the Spring Cleanup Kickoff Celebration at Cumberland Falls State Resort Park and the PRIDE Clean Sweep of US 27 in Somerset. They are dependable volunteers in the annual Laurel Lake Cleanup (April 23 this year), the PRIDE Clean Sweep in McCreary County (May 7), and the Friends of Lake Cumberland Cleanup (September).
Organizers of PRIDE cleanups have come to rely on the Pine Knot Job Corps to bring a large group of hard-working volunteers. At the Laurel Lake Cleanup, the group also brings its own equipment.
Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young people ages 16 through 24 improve the quality of their lives through career technical and academic training.
PRIDE is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental cleanup and education in 38 counties of southern and eastern Kentucky.
The PRIDE Volunteer of the Month program recognizes hard work and dedication to the PRIDE initiative. With corporate sponsorship from TECO Coal, WYMT-TV (Hazard) airs commercials about each PRIDE Volunteer of the Month.
“Volunteers are the backbone of PRIDE,” said Congressman Hal Rogers, who founded PRIDE in 1997. “We wouldn’t be where we are without our volunteers. More than 320,000 volunteers have helped with PRIDE cleanup and education projects. We want to thank TECO Coal for helping PRIDE give these generous people the recognition they deserve.”
“I encourage everyone to catch the Job Corps’ community spirit and volunteer to pick up litter during PRIDE Spring Cleanup Month in April,” Davis added. “To volunteer for a Spring Cleanup event or plan your own, please call our office, toll free, at 888-577-4339, and we’ll put you in touch with your local PRIDE Coordinator. You can learn more at the PRIDE web site, which is www.kypride.org.”
