42 CASA Volunteers Earn Serve Kentucky Awards
A total of 42 CASA volunteers with CASA of Lexington will be receiving Serve Kentucky awards signed by Gov. Andy Beshear for giving more than 100 hours to help abused and neglected children last year.
Seven of those 42 exceeded 300 hours of volunteer service in 2025 and will be recognized as “Top CASA Volunteers” with custom wood-burned medals.
“We are so grateful to these incredible individuals for giving their time to brighten the futures of abused and neglected Kentucky kids,” said Melynda Jamison, Executive Director of CASA of Lexington. “They changed and even saved lives in 2025, and they are already hard at work again this year.”
The volunteers will be recognized at local government meetings in each of the seven counties served by CASA of Lexington. In some counties, local governments will also be presenting their own awards to the volunteers. The ceremonies will take place in March and April:
Garrard County: 6 p.m. March 9 at the Garrard County Fiscal Court meeting, 15 Public Square, Lancaster, KY 40444
Woodford County: 5:30 p.m. March 10 at the Woodford County Fiscal Court meeting, 103 S. Main St., Versailles, KY 40383
Jessamine County: 4 p.m. March 31 at the Jessamine County Fiscal Court meeting, 101 N. Main St., Nicholasville, KY 40356
Scott County: 9 a.m. April 3 at the Scott County Fiscal Court meeting, 101 E. Main St., Georgetown, KY 40324
Bourbon County: 3 p.m. April 9 at the Bourbon County Fiscal Court meeting, 301 Main St., Paris, KY 40361
Lincoln County: 9 a.m. April 14 at the Lincoln County Fiscal Court meeting, 567 Goshen Road, Stanford, KY 40484
Fayette County: 6 p.m. April 16 at the Lexington Urban-County Council meeting, 200 E. Main St., Lexington, KY 40507
CASA volunteers are regular people who are matched with abused and neglected children in the family court system. Each volunteer visits their matched child monthly, collects information about the child’s life, and provides reports to the judge on the child’s case. Volunteers can give children hope and speak up when the system isn’t meeting their needs.
The volunteers receiving awards combined to volunteer for 8,824 hours in 2025.
The Serve Kentucky Volunteer Recognition Program is run by AmeriCorps, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and the Kentucky Office of the Governor. It recognizes volunteers who do important work within the state of Kentucky.
The seven volunteers who gave more than 300 hours in 2025 are Priscilla Miller, Debra Gabbard, Linda Baker, Brittney Thomas, Jan Colbert, Jane Crickard and Cynthia Budek.
The 35 volunteers who gave more than 100 hours in 2025 are Debbie Rurik-Goodwin, Rene Saner, Pat Riddell, Jane Bennington, Pat Bennett, Cynthia Phillips, Bev Chandler, Sally Brunner, Patricia Agront, Susan Maupin, Megan Huston, Fawn Torkelson, Sally Schneider, Ava Crow, Elizabeth Westin, Glenda Dees, Maquel Sarantakos, Todd Johnson, Terri Potter, Charlene Floyd, Carrie Gordy, Lisa Travis, Pat Dugger, Jan Roehl, Meredith Feiertag, Susan Pope, Anne Flynn, Barbara Phipps, Jennifer Dishman, Evelyn Mitchell, Jackie Washburn, Kathy Edwards, Kim Mosley, Cara Duggan and Erin Hall.