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VOLUNTEERS GATHER AT LAKE DEGRAY

Monday, June 23, 2008 9:55 AM CDT

Special to The Commercial

Special to The Commercial Betty Ivey, Ethel Carpenter and Pauline Radford at the volunteer banquet.

MONTICELLO — Fifty Foster Grandparent Volunteers from the SEARK Foster Grandparent Program attended the annual volunteer conference June 10 -12.

They were joined by approximately 100 other volunteers from the OBU Foster Grandparent Program and DeQueen/Mena Education Cooperative Program.

This year the, “Volunteer Island” inspired conference was held at DeGray Lodge on Lake DeGray.

Local sponsorship helped the group defray some of the cost and special thanks go the following local sponsors: Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home, Union Bank and Trust, Commercial Bank and our local Pepsi America’s distribution center. A welcome reception was sponsored by Windsor Medicare Extra, with Miss Arkansas International, Erin Golden, and bingo night was provided by the Elk Horn Bank and Trust Co. of Arkadelphia.

Workshops for this year’s conference included literacy and math training, brain fitness, physical fitness, photography and nature.

One of the DeGray Park Rangers conducted a nature talk complete with bugs which were edible, and several participants came home with “I ate a bug at DeGray” buttons.

Banquet entertainment was provided by the “Silver Belles,” a group from the West Central Area Agency on Aging. They use their entertainment as a way of letting people know what programs are available through their agency. The speaker for the closing session luncheon was Donna Raines, a counselor for the Warren School District at the Brunson Elementary campus.

The Foster Grandparent Program is funded by the Corporation for National Service. These south and west Arkansas programs add at least $1 million to the economy annually, a spokesman said. They also provide more than 258,000 hours of volunteer service per year, valued at $3.5 million.

For more information about the SEARK Foster Grandparent Program, contact Roselyn Busby, program director; Andra Brown, volunteer coordinator; or Renee Holland, administrative assistant at (870) 367-6848.

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