Volunteer Florida Welcomes Chief Executive Officer Chester Spellman

Mike Andrew, chairman of the Governor's Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, Volunteer Florida, today welcomed Chester Spellman of Jacksonville, Fla., as the commission's new chief executive officer. Spellman was appointed to the position on April 27 by Governor Rick Scott. Spellman most recently served as the Governor's director of appointments.

"Chester's leadership roles in Florida nonprofits and track record of developing resources will be a great asset to our commission," said Andrew. "I look forward to him becoming a champion of our national service programs, such as AmeriCorps, that meet critical needs in communities across our state."

As director of appointments, Spellman managed the gubernatorial appointments process for more than 550 statewide boards and commissions. In this role he assisted the governor in identifying qualified candidates from across the state. Prior to his time at the appointments office, Spellman worked on the governor's campaign and inaugural committee.

Spellman is dedicated to community service and civic engagement. Before his work with Governor Scott, Spellman was chief operating officer at Project SOS, a community-based nonprofit organization in Jacksonville. Spellman has served on a variety of nonprofit boards and has been a member of numerous community service organizations and civic groups.

Spellman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southeastern University, Lakeland, Fla., and a Master of Arts in organizational leadership from Regent University, Virginia Beach, Va. He is also a fellow of the Stanford Graduate School of Business' Center for Social Innovation, Stanford, Calif. He and his wife Amanda reside in Tallahassee with their son.

AmeriCorps Week Impact

In honor of National AmeriCorps Week in March, Florida's AmeriCorps members tackled multiple community needs to showcase their impact. Here are some of the highlights!

AmeriCorps members with South Florida Urban Ministries participated in a neighborhood beautification project for AmeriCorps Week

AmeriCorps Hillsborough READS
AmeriCorps members provided multiple days of set up and clean up service for Nature's Classroom, a 365-acre environmental studies program and learning laboratory set in the real Florida environment. Members prepared displays for educational events, cleaned cages and cleared area debris.

AmeriCorps Miami READS AmeriCorps members engaged in several community revitalization service projects throughout the week. Members worked alongside homeowners to assist in repainting homes; facilitated two spring camps enabling children to learn and play in a safe environment during spring break; and participated in a dune restoration project to remove non-native invasive plants from area sand dunes.

AmeriCorps Literacy Palm Beach AmeriCorps members served with the Homeless Coalition of Palm Beach County to support a resource fair for homeless adults and families. Community groups provided clothing and food distribution, the opportunity to receive free haircuts and other personal and health related services.

AmeriCorps South Florida Urban Ministries AmeriCorps members served with Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida during the 8th Annual Community Paint & Beautification Day. Twelve homeowners received exterior painting and landscape restoration for their homes with the help of 315 volunteers.

AmeriCorps St. Lucie, Indian River & Okeechobee Reads Members served at a reading event in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, welcoming almost a hundred volunteers who engaged approximately 350 K-2nd grade students by reading Dr. Seuss classics.

AmeriCorps Youth Transitions Members joined forces with community volunteers to clean up the St. Johns River through multiple sites along the river banks. Members collected 45 large bags of trash, three car tires and a plastic chair.

AmeriCorps Teach for America Jacksonville Members engaged nearly 20 community leaders to serve as guest teachers in corps members' classrooms across Jacksonville, including: The Superintendent of Duval County Schools, the Mayor's Commissioner of Education, a Jacksonville Jaguars NFL Player, Chairman of Acosta Sales and Marketing, and many more.

AmeriCorps Florida State Parks Members teamed up with the National Health Corps AmeriCorps program from Jacksonville for a prairie cleanup at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. With the current dry conditions, the group was able to remove litter from a normally very wet, very difficult area to access along Highway 441. The combined efforts of these two AmeriCorps programs helped create a clear environment for this important ecosystem and all the wildlife that call it home.

AmeriCorps Switchboard of Miami Members served the Camillus House by providing assistance with sorting and organizing community donations. The Camillus House has served the South Florida community since 1960, providing humanitarian services to homeless men, women and children.