President George W. Bush will meet Dean H. Gesme, Sr., when he arrives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, July 20, 2004. Gesme is an active volunteer with SCORE, a volunteer management counseling program sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

President Bush hascalled on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, and hecreated USA Freedom Corpsto help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. Since January 2002, President Bush has met with hundreds of individuals around the country, like Gesme, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

For the past 10 years, Gesme has been a SCORE counselor in eastern Iowa. He spends 40 to 50 hours a month counseling SCORE participants. Gesme advises clients on preparing business plans, marketing, cash flow management, staff development and tax preparation. In addition, Gesme is SCORE’s District Director for eastern Iowa and travels to other chapters to coach and council volunteers.

SCORE is comprised of active and retired business executives who volunteer to counsel and advise small business owners on starting a business or improving an existing enterprise. Clients are matched with the counselor whose experience most closely parallels their needs, and they may utilize the service as long as necessary, at no charge.

USA Freedom Corps has launched “A Call to Summer Service,” an initiative to encourage Americans to spend a part of their summer in volunteer service. Through “A Call to Summer Service,” citizens are reminded that the summer months are an excellent time to answer the President’s Call to Service, strengthen their communities, and extend the compassion and greatness of America. Interested volunteers can find ideas for summer volunteering and information on how to get started at www.usafreedomcorps.gov.

###