Volunteers from 61 counties were honored at the Eleventh Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards ceremony at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs on February 10, 2019. The awards celebrated the efforts of 108 volunteers statewide who have strived to improve their communities through service. Miss Tennessee 2018, Christine Williamson, presented the awards, and NewsChannel5 weekend anchor, Jennifer Kraus, served 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 Tennessee 4-H.

Union County’s Youth Honoree, Savannah Jones, is devoted, passionate, and sincere in her volunteer efforts. She is a junior at Union County High School and very active in local 4-H and FFA programs. Savannah is a highly involved young beef cattle producer. She has a true volunteer heart and has been actively volunteering to mentor, teach, and provide educational lessons to support her passion. She volunteered at Big Ridge Elementary to start an afterschool program for the 4-H Animal Science Project which is now led at other elementary schools as well. Savannah is proven to be a devoted advocate for agriculture and an established leader in the community. She says, "Learning and meeting new people through service has been my favorite part of all the volunteer work I've contributed."

Ashley Mike was recognized as the Union County Adult Honoree. Ashley is a lifetime resident dedicated to growth in Union County and has been volunteering in the community for many years. She is driven to improve her community and has an extraordinary passion for agriculture. "Our community is our home and when we work together to invest resources and time, that is when the good things become great. We should all give it our all; for each other, for our youth, and for collaborative growth within the community," Ashley expresses. She serves as Secretary of the City of Maynardville Parks and Recreations Board. She actively volunteers with the Farm Bureau and the Soil Conservation District where she conducts educational activities such as Farm Day Ag in the Classroom Activities and National Agriculture Appreciation Day. Ashley also organizes the Hay Bale Decorating contest held for local businesses and organizations during the Heritage Festival and the Light Up UC campaign in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce.

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 included: Pilot Flying J, East Tennessee Business Honoree; Atmos Energy, Middle Tennessee Business Honoree; and Rockabilly Café, West Tennessee Business Honoree. The business awards were sponsored by Advance Financial. The non-profit honorees included: United Way of Washington County, East Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; Touchstone Youth Resource Services, Middle Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree; and MyRide West Tennessee, West Tennessee Non-Profit Honoree. The non-profit awards were sponsored by Friends of Volunteer Tennessee.

“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.