A longtime volunteer for the CONTACT Care Line, an East Tennessee crisis intervention resource, was recently honored with a national award for outstanding contributions, a press release said.

Doris Jolley, a CONTACT volunteer for more than 43 years, was awarded the Spirit of Contact Award given by the National Association of Crisis Center Directors and Contact USA following their annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, last fall. The award is the highest given by the organization and recognizes Jolley’s supreme commitment to serving community members in crisis, the press release said.

Having completed the newly implemented CONTACT training course, Jolley was accredited to take calls on the brand new Oak Ridge Contact Helpline in October 1973. Since then, her service to the organization has continued without interruptions, the press release said. Over the years, Jolley has served the organization in a variety of roles: crisis line volunteer, scheduler of volunteers, mentor to new volunteer recruits, as well as executive director for 16 years. Since 2009 alone, Jolley has logged more than 4,000 hours of service. [Read more…]