17-year-old Leanna Edwards of Rockvale, Tennessee has earned the top award of $20,000 in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 2018 James H. Parke Memorial Youth Scholarship Award program.

Tom Gallager oversees the coordination of volunteers at the VA campus in Murfreesboro. He told WGNS about Ms. Edwards...



Edwards, a senior at Central Magnet High School, is the first Parke Scholarship recipient from Tennessee. She has volunteered at the Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) Alvin C. York campus since age 13. In that time, Edwards has clocked more than 1,300 volunteer hours serving in various volunteer positions. Among the areas in which she has worked are diabetes education, the Operation Iraqi Freedom / Operation Enduring Freedom office, and the hospice unit -- where supervisors said her bright personality made her a favorite with patients.

"She's built relationships with these people," said Tom Gallagher, Chief of TVHS Voluntary Service. "She doesn't just come in to put her hours in; she gets to know these Veterans, and she knows their stories. She becomes intimately familiar with folks and she becomes friends with them," he said.

Supervisors also said Edwards also has a tremendous work ethic. In addition to serving during summer months, she volunteered during her school breaks throughout the years.

"She's devoted. She's faithful. She comes when nobody else comes," said Darlene Haynes, TVHS Voluntary Service program specialist and Edwards' direct supervisor. "Her spring break, her fall break, her Christmas break, she comes. She's here," said Haynes.

Each VA medical center can nominate one Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) student volunteer for an award. Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Director, Jennifer Vedral-Baron, says Leanna has been a tremendous asset to the medical center, and is someone for whom service seems to come naturally.

"When you meet her, you see the energy, the intelligence, the shine in her eyes that she's going to give back to her community," said Vedral-Baron. "We couldn't be more proud of Leanna, and of her recognition."

The James H. Parke Memorial Fund was named for the first Director of VA Voluntary Service and the founding father of the Department of VAVS National Advisory Committee member organizations. The memorial fund was established in 1976 to serve as the non-profit source of funds for a VAVS Youth Scholarship. Organizations, volunteers, VA staff and others continue to contribute to the Fund.

To be eligible for the award, candidates must have completed 100 hours of regularly scheduled VAVS volunteer service during the calendar year, be a student in the 10th grade or above, and have not yet reached their 19th birthday.

TVHS depends on the goodwill of volunteers who want to give back to America's heroes. Volunteers provide many important functions throughout TVHS facilities to help make Veterans' visits more comfortable. Anyone interested in volunteering should call 615-225-6497.

TVHS is an integrated tertiary health care system comprised of two hospitals, the Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro and the Nashville Campus, as well as more than a dozen community-based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee and Kentucky. TVHS provides ambulatory care, primary care, and secondary care in acute medicine and surgery, specialized tertiary care, transplant services, spinal cord injury outpatient care, and a full range of extended care and mental health services.