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Prison volunteers honored
Florence Complex shows its volunteers 100 years' worth of appreciations
April 10, 2008
Casa Grande Newspaper
April 10, 2008
On March 29, Chaplain Alwin Becker fired up his pit and cooked his Texas-style barbecued beef brisket that has become "legendary" around the Arizona State Prison Complex-Florence for its 6th annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. This year's theme was "Volunteers Through the Decades" which ties in with this year's Prison Centennial celebration.
That's right, the prison has been in Florence for 100 years this July and volunteers have been involved with the prison since its arrival in 1908. In fact the 160 acres of land that it was built on was voluntarily donated to the Arizona Territory by a local citizen. Documents have also been found showing that one of the earliest Volunteer Appreciation events already occurred back in 1912.
Over 120 people showed up for this year's dinner and awards presentation. The historical theme included old photos and display boards with old stories, pictures and news articles of events in the prison's history. Among the several community guests were Christine Reid and Lynn Smith of the Pinal County Historical Society & Museum. "Their assistance and contribution was crucial for many of the displays we had would not have been possible. We'd like to thank them very much," stated CO IV John Hernandez. Hernandez and CO III Marty Hall worked closely with the historical society prior to the gathering to acquire much of what was displayed. Hall has long been recognized by his Florence peers as its ad hoc resident historian.
Religious volunteer Mitch Vitkovitch was called upon to speak a little about prison history from his perspective. He told a funny story about his first encounter with the prison when he was 15 years old and some humorous recollections of when he first became a volunteer over 25 years ago. Mitch is on the statewide Religious Advisory Committee and was a personal friend of the Department's late Director Sam Lewis.
Warden Carson McWilliams and Chaplain Allen Miser hosted the dinner and presented the awards and numerous door prizes. Among other things Warden McWilliams stated to the group, "...there are simply positive ways that volunteers are able to impact inmates, because you volunteer your time, that the rest of us cannot."
This year's Religious Volunteer of the Year Award went to Glessner Roth. Gless was originally a volunteer with the Salvation Army. She now volunteers her time from the Rincon Baptist Church in Tucson. The Substance Abuse Volunteer of the Year winner was Chuck Lafferty. Chuck works with the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
Warden McWilliams presented a check for $2,526.00 to the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence in honor of the Florence Volunteers. Accepting the check for the Coalition was new Executive Director Allie Bones and Becky Martin. This money was contributed by inmates during fundraisers for the Volunteer Dinner and was what was left over after expenses. Fundraisers for victim's service organizations are part of the Department's Restorative Justice and Victim's Rights programs. Independent from the dinner effort Central Unit inmates had also raised $1,624.11. This was also publicly presented during the proceedings to Theresa Babich of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (M.A.D.D.).
The volunteers at Arizona State Prison in Florence act as mentors, provide religious services, education, and substance abuse programs for the inmates. Several people also contribute their time to speak to inmates about how crime has impacted them personally as a part of the Departments Restorative Justice programming and have also been in attendance in recent years.
"These people display great courage in volunteering their time to come in and tell their stories. It is fitting that we do everything we can to acknowledge them and include them in these dinners," stated Chaplain Becker who also happens to be the complex's Volunteer Coordinator. "Everyone who comes in to make their contributions are very much appreciated by the Department, Florence Complex Administration, staff and the inmates."
©Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. 2008