Joanie Alexander has earned the region’s PRIDE Volunteer of the Month Award. PRIDE co-founder Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5) presented the award to Alexander, who is a junior at Rockcastle County High School.

PRIDE honored Alexander for her efforts to increase recycling in Rockcastle County. Alexander began her recycling project after graduating from the Rogers Scholars program in July. Rogers Scholars are tasked with starting a community service project in their hometowns. She has been working with the Rockcastle County School System and James Renner, who is the Rockcastle County Solid Waste and PRIDE Coordinator.

“I take great pride in presenting this award to a bright young lady who is giving back to her community,” Rogers said. “It is encouraging to see a young person taking the lead on such an important issue. Recycling conserves the world’s energy and natural resources, but it has to start locally. With young leaders like Joanie at work, I am confident our region will adopt the habit of recycling.”