STAR students honored by Governor Napolitano

Governor Janet Napolitano welcomes recipients of Arizona’s highest honor for volunteer service (Photo by S.J. Wilson/Observer).

Governor Janet Napolitano welcomes recipients of Arizona’s highest honor for volunteer service (Photo by S.J. Wilson/Observer).

PHOENIX-The Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism and Governor Janet Napolitano welcomed sixteen volunteerism award recipients to the state capitol to receive 2006 Governor's Volunteer Service Awards on April 27.

Six students from the STAR School traveled to Phoenix to share in the festivities, which included a luncheon, awards ceremony, entertainment-and the chance to meet with other outstanding Arizona volunteers.

Napolitano thanked the community members and sponsors who made the event a success.

"Volunteers are key players to the building of one Arizona," Napolitano said.

She described a slogan she wrote for her last campaign, "Arizona-Many Lands, Many People, Many Faces," which she tied into her desire to build communities for a stronger Arizona.

"Whether they are young or old, an individual or part of a group, Arizona volunteers have logged in 158.6 million hours of volunteer service this year," Napolitano said. "That is a value of $2.8 billion. That is big! I call them psychic dollars. What you get for them is a well-lived life."

Afton Solomon, Keshia Yazzie, Crystal Drake, Brandon Montour, Burrell Jones and Kee Wilson are six of the eight leaders of the Elder Help Project-funded to date by the Arizona Department of Education Learn and Serve Arizona project, the STAR School and Coconino County Board of Supervisors Office.

The other recipients were Caitlyn Kramer (Douglas), Jason Sanchez (Prescott), heart of Glendale Teen Council (Glendale), Tracy Candelaria (Concho), William Andres (Phoenix), Phoenix Police Reserve (Phoenix), Packages From Home (Phoenix), The Cultural Cup Food Bank (Phoenix), Liz's Pantry (Tucson), "1, 2, 3 Read Program" The Arizona Republic (Gilbert), the Town of Prescott Valley (Prescott Valley), Angela Cole (Prescott Valley), Robert Preston (Tempe), Anne Ashton Goldfield (Scottsdale), and Dawn M. Rhodes (Mesa).

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