Three individuals and four organizations on Wednesday received the U.S. President’s Service Award to recognize volunteer engagement during the 2021-2022 school year.
Junior Achievement of West Kentucky is a certifying organization that has the ability to recognize its volunteer partners with the prestigious national award, which is presented from the White House and the President of the United States.
While the award was established during President George W. Bush’s tenure, the local JA office is in its 14th year as a certifying partner. Companies, organizations, and/or schools must provide a minimum of 200 community service hours throughout the fiscal year to be eligible for the award. Individuals must provide a minimum of 100 hours.
During the 2021-22 school year, JA was able to serve 8,475 students in Daviess County and 23,675 students across the multi-county coverage area.
Dan Douglas, JA of Western Kentucky President, said that each volunteer receives a letter from the active president during that year and a plaque.
The following individuals were spotlighted for their work:
- Steve Dixon — Bronze
- Angie Padget — Bronze
- Ashley Sexton — Bronze
The following organizations were spotlighted for their work:
- U.S. Bank — Gold
- Brescia University — Bronze
- Limestone Bank — Bronze
- Old National Bank — Bronze
Padget and Dixon were also winners in the 2019-20 school year but were not able to receive the awards due to the pandemic. So, the two of them received a letter from both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Douglas said since the pandemic, JA has yet to bounce back to their previous volunteer numbers but have still been able to serve the community well. He’s hoping the organization can find more volunteers going forward.
“In a normal year pre-COVID, we were working with about 400 to 600 volunteers. Now we’re working with about 250 to 300 volunteers,” Douglas said. “So we need to build that volunteer support back.”
