[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S4061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING KENTUCKY'S TOP YOUTH VOLUNTEERS

 Mr. BUNNING. Madam President, I would like to congratulate and 
honor two young Kentucky students who have achieved national 
recognition for exemplary volunteer service in their communities. 
Elizabeth Scoville of East Bernstadt and David Tao of Bardstown have 
been named State Honorees in The 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community 
Awards program, an annual honor conferred on only one high school 
student and one middle-level student in each State, the District of 
Columbia and Puerto Rico.
  Elizabeth Scoville, a junior at North Laurel High School, is being 
recognized for her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to community. 
She started a computer collection project that provided refurbished 
personal computers to 26 low-income students in the Appalachian region 
of eastern Kentucky. Elizabeth asked businesses that were upgrading 
their computer systems to donate their old hardware to needy children. 
She cleaned and repaired every donated machine, and then worked with 
teachers and counselors at her school to select students to receive 
them, based on need and effort in school. Elizabeth also trained each 
recipient in basic computer skills.
  David Tao, a seventh-grader at Bardstown Middle School, designed and 
created a candle and broom-making exhibit for a log cabin in the Old 
Bardstown Village and Civil War. When David found out that the village 
needed a new display for pieces of donated Shaker broom-making tools, 
he saw a unique opportunity to contribute to Bardstown's historical 
preservation. He researched the history of brooms and candles, then 
traveled across the Commonwealth to learn Shaker broom-making 
techniques. After the individual components were finished, David and 
his mother set up the display, which is now a permanent part of the Old 
Bardstown Village exhibits.
  It is vital that we encourage and fully support the kind of selfless 
contributions these young people have made. People of all ages need to 
think more about how we, as individual citizens, can work together at 
the local level to ensure the health and vitality of our towns and 
neighborhoods. Young volunteers like Elizabeth and David are inspiring 
examples to all of us, and are among our brightest hopes for a better 
tomorrow.
  The program that brought these young role models to our attention, 
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, was created by Prudential 
Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary 
Principals in 1995 to impress upon all youth volunteers that their 
contributions are critically important and highly valued, and to 
inspire other young people to follow their example. Over the past 7 
years, the program has become the nation's largest youth recognition 
effort based solely on community service, with nearly 125,000 
youngsters participating since its inception.
  Elizabeth and David should be extremely proud to have been singled 
out from such a large group of dedicated volunteers. As part of their 
recognition, they visited Washington on May 5 for several days of 
special events, including a Congressional breakfast reception on 
Capitol Hill. While here in Washington, 10 will be named America's top 
youth volunteers of the year by a distinguished national selection 
committee.
  I heartily applaud Elizabeth and David for their initiative in 
seeking to make their communities better places to live, and for the 
positive impact they have had on the lives of others. I also would like 
to salute other young people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky who were 
Distinguished Finalists by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards 
for their outstanding volunteer services. They are: Robert Campos of 
Lexington, Daniel Knausz of Neon, Lydia Kullman of Owensboro, and 
Kathryn Reynolds of Louisville.
  All of these young people have demonstrated a level of commitment and 
accomplishment that is truly extraordinary in today's world, and 
deserve our sincere admiration and respect. Their actions show that 
young Americans can, and, do play important roles in their communities, 
and that America's community spirit continues to hold tremendous 
promise for the future.

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