Bradley County Juvenile Court hosted its 14th Junior Master Gardening Graduation ceremony. Over 75 people were in attendance, including State Representative Kevin Raper and County Commissioner Scott Gilbert. The Bradley County Juvenile Court initiated the program in 2013 and has since graduated 159 graduates with only 16 repeat offenders.
The Junior Master Gardening program provides a positive learning experience for youth to develop leadership, responsibility, and community pride through organized gardening activities. The program has been a great success due, in large part, to the Master Gardeners that volunteer their time and experience to teach the program participants valuable gardening and life skills, said officials.
The Bradley County Juvenile Court extends a special thanks to those individuals: Jamie Alderman, Don Appleman, Jan Appleman, Anita Bailey, Nancy Bowman, Lynne Connor, Dave Hopper, Beverly Johnson, Annabel Webb, Mike Webb, Summer Strickland, and Robin Ramsey. This program is also made possible by several members of the Juvenile Court staff, who sacrifice additional time every week to put on this program after normal working hours. The Bradley County Juvenile Court commends Mallory Howard, Haley Longwith, Steven Rogers, and Ben Wycoff for their efforts that make this program a success.
“I’ve always believed the best way to ensure sustainability is through hard work,” says Judge Morgan, “These kids have learned valuable skills and have been mentored by some amazing volunteers who have shared both knowledge and a caring heart over the past several weeks. It’s volunteers and court staff like these that make the Junior Master Gardening Program so special.”
Bradley County Juvenile Court congratulates all 12 program graduates on their participation and
hard work in this program and looks to their futures with great hope and expectation.