Senate Concurrent Resolution 605

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE VICKSBURG CAMPUS OF THE AMERICORPS NATIONAL CIVILIAN COMMUNITY CORPS (NCCC) FOR THEIR TREMENDOUS SERVICE TO THE CITIZENS OF OUR REGION.

WHEREAS, each year, AmeriCorps NCCC engages teams of members in projects in communities across the United States. Service projects, which typically last from six to eight weeks, address critical needs related to natural and other disasters, infrastructure improvement, environmental stewardship and conservation, energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Members mentor students, construct and rehabilitate low-income housing, respond to natural disasters, clean up streams, help communities develop emergency plans, and address countless other local needs; and

WHEREAS, in 2009, four years after Hurricane Katrina brought teams of AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) to the Gulf Coast to join in recovery efforts, the Corporation for National and Community Service opened the fifth NCCC Campus in Vicksburg with the induction of 160 Corps members; and

WHEREAS, AmeriCorps NCCC has five regional campuses located in Perry Point, Maryland; Denver, Colorado; Sacramento, California; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Vinton, Iowa. These campuses are the hubs from which AmeriCorps NCCC operates and deploys corps members to service projects around the country. Each campus serves as a headquarters for its multistate region and can lodge and feed its entire regional corps, which ranges in size from 150 to 500 members. The staffs at the campuses support both the corps members and project sponsors as they engage in service activities. All corps members and team leaders live and work on campus for the duration of their training at the beginning of each corps year, as well as for transition weeks between project rounds. Campuses start at various times throughout the year to ensure that there are enough trained AmeriCorps members available to respond to national and regional disasters; and

WHEREAS, Nicola Goren, acting CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that oversees NCCC, stated, "The efforts of all the NCCC members who served in the area following Hurricane Katrina made a huge difference in the area's recovery. As a result, Mississippians were determined to bring a new campus to their area. The Vicksburg Campus would not be a reality without the involvement and support of numerous people, particularly the Mississippi congressional delegation, Governor Barbour and the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service"; and

WHEREAS, when tornadoes ripped through parts of Mississippi in 2011 and floodwaters of the Mississippi River hit the river counties, what did not get destroyed was the volunteer spirit of Mississippians. "They are true everyday heroes," said Deirdra Harris Glover with the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service. At those disasters, almost 6,000 people from around the state and region jumped into action, putting on volunteer hats and logging more than 21,700 hours. On April 27, 2011, at half-a-mile wide, with wind speeds topping 205 miles per hour, it was a miracle anyone made it through the Smithville tornado, residents said. It was the worst twister Mississippi had seen since 1966, yet within the three-mile path of destruction it left behind more than 200 homes and 20 businesses destroyed, most of Smithville's 900 residents survived. The Columbus Regional Response Team, the Columbus Air Force Base Fire Department and the NCCC Vicksburg were on hand providing support and assistance; and

WHEREAS, at least 50% of the Southern Region's focus is on disaster services. The first round of projects for the Vicksburg Campus included 13 in Mississippi itself. The new Southern Region Campus also provided consistent support to entities addressing other community needs throughout the eleven-state region of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee; and

WHEREAS, September 11 each year is America's National Day of Service and Remembrance, when AmeriCorps NCCC and the MCVS staff partner on projects. The mission of National Day of Service is to engage and support Mississippians of all ages and backgrounds in service to their communities; and

WHEREAS, on behalf of all Mississippians, we deeply appreciate the AmeriCorps members, and our state is now honored to host the newest AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps Campus in Vicksburg. We welcome these outstanding, civic-minded young men and women, and know they will offer tremendous service to people in our region:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize the Vicksburg Campus of the Americorps National Civilian Community Corps for their tremendous service to the citizens of the Southern Region, and we extend our best wishes to these dedicated individuals on the National Day of Service on September 11, 2012.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Gary Turner, the Executive Director of the NCCC Southern Region, and David Mallery, the Executive Director of the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.