(CASA & Children's Advocacy Center)
| Statewide Recognition
Local Child Advocate Earns Statewide Recognition A local child advocate has earned statewide recognition for her efforts on behalf of abused and neglected children. CASA volunteer Melanie Grammar of Whitewright was recently recognized at the Texas CASA Annual Awards Dinner. Grammar was a nominee for the Jane Q. Piper Volunteer Advocate of the Year, which is named for the founding CEO of Texas CASA. She has been volunteering at the Fannin County Children’s Center for about three years. During that time she has been appointed to be an advocate for seven abused children involved in the foster care system. This past spring she was selected as the Volunteer of the Year at the Fannin County Children’s Center. Grammar was one of only twelve volunteer advocates recognized at the annual awards banquet of Texas CASA, the state association of CASA programs. The dinner was held in conjunction with Texas CASA’s annual state conference in Dallas. Conference participants from Fannin County included Grammar, Charlene Dalton, Mel Dunham, Joyce McGehee and Sandy Barber. Barber and Grammar were also speakers at one of the conference workshops. They were two people on a panel of six who shared their expertise regarding volunteer recruitment and retention. The opening keynote address of the conference was given by award winning actress Victoria Rowell. Perhaps best known for portraying the character Drucilla Winters on the daytime soap opera Young and the Restless, Rowell also appeared on the television series Diagnosis Murder for eight seasons. Rowell shared her inspiring story of achieving success as an actress, philanthropist and mother, despite the challenges of growing up in foster care. She also answered questions from the audience. Afterwards, Rowell signed copies of her book “The Women Who Raised Me” which chronicles her rise out of the foster care system to attain her dreams and the remarkable women who nurtured, encouraged and cared for her.
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Fannin County Children's Center
112 West Fifth Street Bonham,TX 75418 USA
Phone: 903.583.4339 Fax: 903.583.3074
Email: info@fanninccc.org