Jill Clark Receives Optimist Respect for Law Award

Each year the Optimist Club of Gettysburg selects and recognizes a deserving law enforcement professional from the Gettysburg area for the Optimist Respect for Law Award.  “We believe it is important for children to grow up with a strong belief in abiding by the law, respecting law enforcement and doing what they can to maintain peace”, said project chair, Doug Miller.  Through the club’s 2012 Respect for Law program, the club selected Jill Clark,  Community Re-entry Program, Director of Institutional Services, Adams County Department of Probation Services.  Jill was selected for her commitment and selfless dedication to her profession and the community.

Ms. Clark is involved with creating and maintaining a program called The Adams County Community Re-entry Program.  Her goal and mission is to allow and assist individuals to reenter into the community as upstanding citizens.

The Community Re-Entry Program, as supported by the Mission of the Adams County Court, is committed to providing opportunities for all those who participate to be stronger, healthier, more productive individuals than they were before they were incarcerated. The objective is to provide a structured environment that promotes accountability for growth and self-development and seeks to instill a desire within all participants to succeed and to focus on a healthier future as they return to the community.

The Community Re-Entry Program provides opportunities for participants to engage in the community prior to their release from incarceration through employment, treatment and rehabilitative programming, public service and visitation in a structured environment. These opportunities, when embraced by those who share a desire to improve their future, are essential components for a successful transition from incarceration to the community.

Optimist International is one of the world’s largest service club organizations with 93,000 adult and youth members in 3,200 clubs in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico and throughout the word.  The Optimist Respect or Law Program is one of the organization’s most popular programs, with more than 1,500 clubs participating annually.  Carrying the motto “Bringing out the Best in Kids,” Optimists clubs around the world conduct hundreds of positive service projects that reach more than six million young people each year.

The Optimist Club of Gettysburg was chartered in 1958 as an affiliate of Optimist International and has been in continuous service to the Gettysburg community and its youth since its initiation.  To learn more about The Gettysburg Optimist Club, visit http://gettysburgoptimist.org/news/ or http://www.facebook.com/OptimistClubofGettysburg.