KNOXVILLE, TN – In honor of National Volunteer Week, today Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Jim Rispoli recognized Richard Buxton and William Flanery with the President’s Volunteer Service Award during a ceremony in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Mssrs. Flanery and Buxton have each devoted over 100 hours of community service as co-chairs of the Idaho National Laboratory Site Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board.

Mr. Buxton, also a retiree and a co-chair, attended the Naval Academy, the University of Colorado, and Boise State.  He has held various positions in facility management, planning, engineering, and operations at One Capital Center in Boise, the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve, and Mountain Bell/U.S. West.  He has been active on the Board since 2004.

Mr. Flanery, a retired United Methodist Church pastor, has worked for the Colorado legislature, has served as Executive Director of the Girls Scouts in Colorado Springs, CO, and as a planner for the Model Cities Program in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Mr. Flanery has a Bachelors degree in Engineering Physics and Business Management from the University of Colorado.  He completed a Masters in Divinity after three years of graduate work at the Union Theological Seminary in New York and has also completed graduate work in urban planning.  Mr. Flanery lives in Missoula, Montana and has been active on the Board since 2004. 

“Those honored this week set a high standard for all Americans and should be proud of their service, sacrifice and generosity.  We are very fortunate, as a nation, and the Department of Energy recognizes the importance of volunteerism.  I want to thank Richard, William, volunteers honored this week and volunteers nationwide who play a key role in making this nation so great,” Secretary Bodman said.

As part of a broader effort to recognize individuals in honor of National Volunteer Week, Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman and senior DOE leadership traveling the country this week, will present a total of 14 DOE employees with the President’s Volunteer Award.  

President George W. Bush has called on all Americans to volunteer two years or 4,000 hours over the course of their lifetime. Through the USA Freedom Corps, President Bush wants to help every American answer the Call to Service by strengthening and expanding service opportunities to protect our homeland, support our communities and extend American compassion around the world.  Interested volunteers can find information on the USA Freedom Corps at http://www.freedomcorps.gov/ or by calling 1-877-USA-CORPS.

Media contact(s):
Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940