President George W. Bush will meet Rod Conover when he arrives in Farmington, New Mexico, on Thursday, August 26, 2004. Conover, 67, is an active volunteer with a number of organizations in his community including Project Read, an adult literacy program.

President Bush has called on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetimes, and he created USA Freedom Corps to help foster a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility. Since March 2002, President Bush has met with more than 300 individuals around the country, like Conover, who are answering the call to volunteer service.

Conover has volunteered more than 500 hours over the past four years with Project Read, serving as a tutor or performing administrative duties three days a week. Founded in 1987, Project Read offers adult residents of San Juan County personal language and reading instruction. In addition, Conover volunteers as the vice president for the Farmington School Board and as the president of the Retired Educators of San Juan County. He also volunteers twice a week as the chaplain at San Juan Regional Medical Center.

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 summer is 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.

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