Youth Winner: Addie Arnold, Northside Neighborhood House
Addie Arnold and Deborah Williams have been chosen as Hamilton County’s winners of the 2017 Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards. They will be honored along with winners from other Tennessee Counties at the Annual Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards Program in Franklin, Tn.
According to state generated statistics, 1.3 million Tennessee volunteers give more than 149 million hours of service, contributing the equivalent of $3.4 billion to Tennessee’s economy.
Youth Winner: Addie Arnold, Northside Neighborhood House
"Addie is an outstanding volunteer because she desires to share her passion for the arts with other children at the Northside Neighborhood House.
While most 13 year olds are focused on having fun, Addie has a desire to share what she loves with others. Addie teaches K-3 students. She began working a couple of Fridays each month in August of 2017. Addie plans and collects supplies to bring when she shares lessons, planting a seed of exposure and enrichment for her groups. She is passionate about exploring different forms of art from dance to drawing, and many more. When Addie serves, she serves with enthusiasm. She works very hard on her lesson plans and ensures the students are learning while having fun," officials said.
Adult Winner: Deborah Williams, the Tennessee Aquarium
"Deb first became an education docent with the Tennessee Aquarium about 10 years ago, and has accrued almost 2,500 hours of service. She interprets exhibits around the galleries, staffs the touch tanks and engages the visitors, using good customer service skills with everything from recommending restaurants downtown to knowing the names of all the penguins. She became a Backstage Pass Tour Leader several years ago and takes groups of 15 guests behind the scenes for an up close and personal view of exhibits and tanks, then ends with a live animal encounter. On the fourth day of the week, Deb works as a volunteer chef cutting up pounds of seafood for the live animal collections in ocean journey. Deb is a serious animal lover," officials said.
Mayor Jim Coppinger stated, “These generous citizens embody the spirit of giving, selflessly helping fulfill needs that would otherwise go unmet. I am grateful they live in our community.”
Adult Winner: Deborah Williams, the Tennessee Aquarium