One thousand hours is the equivalent of 41.6 days- a lengthy amount of time by any measure. One Wood County woman made sure to make the most of it. Beth Drake is one of this years Governor's Service Award winners which is an impressive accolade for a tough job.
"These awards recognize exemplary service from individuals and organizations throughout the state," explains Moya Doneghy with the Volunteer West Virginia Organization. "People who have stepped up and recognized the need and have gone above and beyond to either create a solution, find a solution, gather friends and other people to help solve a problem."
Drake spent over 1000 hours volunteering with Our Communities Foundation, Altrusa and the Parkersburg Art Center. She was also instrumental in the creation of 'morescholarships.org' which secured thousands of grant-funded dollars and helped implement numerous educational programs. Drake says she enjoys volunteering greatly.
"Well, I've been retired for several years and since I've retired I found it to be of value to me to be of value to my community," Drake says. "I enjoy doing what I do."
Drake says she's honored to be recognized for her hard work and hopes to be able to inspire others to volunteer as well.
"There are many, many opportunities out there to do very, very precious things for the community and there is a lot of different kinds of work," Drake adds. "So, if a person has a certain kind of skill, they find a place to volunteer. If they have another kind of skill... there will be another place to volunteer."
The Governor's Service Awards were established in 1995 and are administered by Volunteer West Virginia.
