Volunteer Tennessee recruiting local leaders across the Upper Cumberland to serve as county coordinators for the Governor’s Volunteer Stars Awards.
Community Engagement and Outreach Manager Jason Scott said the program relies on local leadership to facilitate a recognition process tailored to the specific needs of their own communities. Scott said these coordinators help identify volunteers for honors that culminate in a statewide ceremony held every February.
“The local recognition that celebrates what you’re doing on a local level,” Scott said, “But then the state level opportunity helps connect those individuals to recognize that they’re part of a bigger volunteer state of mind in the Volunteer State.”
Scott said the primary responsibility for a coordinator is to select one youth and one adult honoree by early November. The role is designed to be flexible, allowing professionals to manage nominations through social media or press releases while organizations like the United Way might choose to host formal in-person events.
“The intent is that the county coordinator role is meant to be something that people who are interested in being leaders and helping recognize volunteers in their community are able to attach, whether they have a couple hours a week here and there or they want to do something a bit more involved,” Scott said.
Scott said that while coordinators focus on youth and adult categories, the awards also include honors for nonprofits, businesses, and schools. Any resident can submit nominations for these specific categories directly through the state website.
“Those particular items, the school, the business and the nonprofit honorees, anybody in the state can make a nomination for them directly,” Scott said. “They can just go online and fill out the form. All of those are determined on the state level.”
Scott said the program helps sustain a culture of service by connecting people who might otherwise feel isolated in their individual efforts. He said seeing the collective impact of volunteers from different fields, such as education or the environment, helps maintain the energy required for long-term community service.
“When people are talking about making a positive difference in their community with each other, they recognize that they’re part of a bigger collective good,” Scott said.
If a county lacks an official coordinator, Scott said individuals can still submit nominations online by noting the submission is not through a local lead. Those applications are then reviewed at the state level alongside other entries from the same area.
Interested residents can contact Scott directly via email, [email protected], to discuss the responsibilities and join the effort.