Tennessee's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 11th Annual National Awards Program; Franklin and Nashville Students Earn $1,000 Awards, Engraved Medallions and Trip to Nation's Capital; Honors Also Bestowed on Other Top Youth Volunteers in Tennessee.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Scott Meltzer, 18, of Franklin and Ellie Ambrose, 12, of Nashville today were named Tennessee's top two youth volunteers for 2006 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 11th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Scott was nominated by Centennial High School in Franklin, and Ellie was nominated by Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees - one middle level and one high school youth - from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America's top youth volunteers for 2006 at that time.

Scott, a senior at Centennial High School, established a teen court in his county to give non-violent juvenile offenders a chance to correct their mistakes, and to give high school students a chance to learn first-hand about the American judicial system. Scott says he has a "passion for understanding, learning and interpreting the law." So when he saw a TV report in 2003 about a teen court in another part of the state, he immediately began thinking about starting a teen court in his county.

After getting positive feedback from fellow students and his Criminal Justice teacher, Scott met with judges, youth court officers and county and state officials; recruited student participants through assemblies and classroom meetings; and then organized a three-week session to train the students to be prosecutors, defense attorneys and jurors. When the court began trying cases diverted from juvenile court, Scott also served as a prosecutor. Now in its third year of operation, the Williamson County Teen Court has grown to include more than 100 student participants from four high schools, and tries more cases than any other teen court in Tennessee. It also has been highly successful in reducing repeat offenses by the defendants who have come before the court. "I feel a sense of accomplishment, achievement and dignity when I hear of a former juvenile offender who has changed with a positive outlook on his or her future," said Scott.

Ellie, a sixth-grader at Christ Presbyterian Academy, initiated an annual fund-raising run and carnival that have yielded more than $40,000 over the past two years for sick and disadvantaged African children. Ellie was motivated to begin her project when she saw a slide presentation on poverty in Africa. "It showed tiny houses, droughts and illnesses," said Ellie. "Some children were so skinny it looked as if their skin would become too tight and break their bones. Once I saw this, I wanted to help!"

After deciding that she wanted to raise money with a race and a carnival, Ellie put together a plan with her parents and friends. She then delivered speeches to school and local groups to promote the run and raise awareness about Africa, made TV and radio commercials, and attended a lot of planning meetings. On the day of the first "Ellie's Run for Africa," more than 70 volunteers helped Ellie and her family set up and manage a five-kilometer run, a one-mile "family fun run," and a carnival featuring games, a dunk tank, an African cultural marketplace and African dancers and drummers. A second event last September brought the total amount of money raised so far to $43,000, and a third run is scheduled for later this year.

In addition, the program judges recognized six other Tennessee students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

Sondra Clark, 16, of Nashville, a member volunteer of Hands On Nashville and a sophomore at Christ Presbyterian Academy, raises funds to help impoverished children in other countries attend school; collects donations of toiletries, crafts and school supplies for needy African children; and speaks to school and civic groups about volunteering and sponsoring children in developing countries.

Jeremy Doochin, 18, of Nashville, a senior at Hume-Fogg Academic High School, formed a student group that participates in environmental projects and educates others about environmental issues. Jeremy's "Student Environmental Outreach Coalition" has hosted informational programs and speakers, revamped his school recycling program, labeled storm drains, improved park trails, lobbied for environmental policies, and participated in a variety of events to advance environmental causes.

Robert French, 18, of Springfield, a senior at Springfield High School, built a Web site for his county government that provides online information on county officials, departments, history, points of interest and other topics. Robert produced a school concert to raise funds for equipment to set up the site, recruited friends to lay cable, and taught county officials how to create and maintain their own pages.

Shruti Shah, 17, of Memphis, a junior at White Station High School, organized a 5K walk/run that raised $17,000 to buy books for elementary school libraries in his school district. Shruti solicited donations from major corporations, planned and publicized the event, and recruited volunteers to help him manage the successful event.

Julia Taylor, 18, of Memphis, a senior at Hutchison School, helped produced a school talent show to raise money for a heart transplant for a needy child in Belarus. Julia helped write the script for the show, organize the acts, design the set and publicize the event.

Krystal Waters, 16, of Antioch, a senior at Heritage Christian Academy in Mt. Juliet, speaks at student assemblies about the importance of responsible driving habits. Krystal's presentation encourages teens to wear seat belts and practice good driving habits by presenting details of her own car accident, a video of other accident scenes, a graphic demonstration of a special roll-over vehicle, and short speeches by a state trooper and Krystal's mother.

"The recipients of these awards vividly demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities," said Art Ryan, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial. "They truly deserve all of the praise and encouragement we can give them."

"The young people recognized by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards demonstrate an enormous capacity for giving and reaching out to those in need," said Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "NASSP is proud to honor them as they are wonderful examples of the high caliber of young people in our nation's schools today."

All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and Volunteer Centers, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award this past November. Nearly 8,000 Local Honorees were then reviewed by state-level judges, who selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria such as personal initiative, creativity, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees will tour the capital's landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them - five middle level and five high school students - will be named National Honorees on May 8 by a prestigious national selection committee. These honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.

U.S. Senators Tim Johnson of South Dakota and Saxby Chambliss of Georgia will serve as co-chairs of the national selection committee. Also serving on the committee will be Ryan of Prudential; actor Richard Dreyfuss; Alma Powell, chair of America's Promise - The Alliance for Youth; Robert Goodwin, President and CEO of the Points of Light Foundation; Amy B. Cohen, Director of Learn and Serve America at the Corporation for National and Community Service; Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA; Donald T. Floyd Jr., President and CEO of National 4-H Council; Ken Gladish, National Executive Director of YMCA of the USA; David Vodila, President of NASSP; and two 2005 Prudential Spirit of Community National Honorees: Devin Cohen of Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., and Lindsey Williams of St. Joseph, Mo.

In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program will be distributing President's Volunteer Service Awards to nearly 4,200 of its Local Honorees this year on behalf of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. The President's Volunteer Service Award recognizes Americans of all ages who have volunteered significant amounts of their time to serve their communities and their country.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program is supported by National 4-H Council, Girl Scouts of the USA, American Red Cross, YMCA of the USA, Points of Light Foundation, American Association of School Administrators, National Middle School Association, National School Boards Association, Council of the Great City Schools, National School Public Relations Association, and many other national youth and service organizations.

The awards are part of a broad initiative created by Prudential to encourage young people to become involved in community service. Other elements of the initiative include a community leadership training program for high school students, now administered by the Points of Light Foundation; and a variety of educational materials for young people and teachers relating to youth volunteerism.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit www.prudential.com/spirit, or www.principals.org/prudential.

NASSP - the preeminent organization and the national voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals and aspiring school leaders - provides its members the professional resources to serve as visionary leaders. NASSP promotes the intellectual growth, academic achievement, character development, leadership development, and physical well-being of youth through its programs and student leadership services. NASSP administers the National Honor Society(TM), National Junior Honor Society(TM), and National Association of Student Councils(TM).

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