The Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex (RJSJCC) and Brownwood Halfway House (BHH) honored the many volunteers who play a vital role in the assisting the students in their quest to become productive members of society. The 18th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Banquet was held on Tuesday, August 19, 2014 at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex campus. With the theme of “Volunteers Plant the Seeds of Kindness,” volunteers and staff came together to celebrate all the people who give of their time to help the TJJD students in Brownwood.
This annual event honors all the volunteers who spend countless hours on the RJSJCC campus mentoring, tutoring, leading Bible studies, providing Chaplaincy services and/or serving as members of the Brownwood Community Resource Council for the Benefit of TJJD youth. Several volunteers were recognized for their outstanding service during the course of the year in various categories.
The recipients of the RJSJCC Volunteer Awards were: Daniel Garza, II, Outstanding Mentor Award; Edda Ratliff, Volunteer Achievement Award; Pastor Sterling Lentz, Dr. Edward Garrett Individual Volunteer Award; Nimitr Weropas, Mickey Harr Chaplaincy Volunteer Award; Paul and Debbie Bellinger, Family Award; Coggin Avenue Baptist Church, Group Award; Ava Hicks, Employee Volunteer Award; Vicki Smith, Spirit Award; In addition, James Kit Dean is being honored in Austin by the Presidents Lifetime Achievement Award for over 4000 hours of volunteer service to Ron Jackson and the Brownwood Halfway House.
April Jameson, RJSJCC superintendent and Jarome Finley, BHH Superintendent, opened the banquet by expressing their gratitude for the lives that volunteers touch and change by planting seeds of kindness. Speeches by Teresa Stroud, Sr. Director of State Programs and Facilities for TJJD and Dr. Paul Lilly, Assistant Professor and Chief of Police at Howard Payne University provided both anecdotes and well researched statistics that describe the impact of a volunteer on the life of a troubled youth. In fiscal year 2013, volunteers provided 13,891 hours of service to the youth.
The evening’s meal was provided by Underwood’s BBQ with additional generous contributions from Lemon’s BBQ, Stick’s BBQ, Humphrey Pete’s and Subway. The menu included barbeque sandwiches, beans, potato salad and cobbler, which was enjoyed by all. Plants for the centerpieces/door prizes were graciously donated by Trees Forever. The Brownwood Community Resource Council to Benefit TJJD along with the Salvation Army provided further sponsorship for the banquet.
Those interested in becoming a volunteer are asked to contact the Community Relations Office at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Facility at 325-641-4240 or 325-642-4241.