KINGSPORT, Tenn. - The Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce is proud to award its 2011 Santa Train Scholarship to Kasi Thacker, a 2011 graduate of East Ridge High School, Lick Creek, KY. The four-year scholarship is worth $5,000.
Thacker is an honor student at East Ridge and is ranked in the top percentile of her senior class and has maintained a 3.7 grade point average upon graduation.
She was active throughout her high school career being a member of various student organizations and clubs including: BETA Club, Do Something Club and JKG.
In addition, she has been an employee at Subway, Little Caesars and JCPennys during that time.
Thacker's mother was involved in a serious car accident in February 2011 where she was hospitalized. Two months later (April), she was released from a rehabilitation facility and approved to go home to her family. Unfortunately, due to her condition, she is unable to be left alone and must be driven to therapy at least three days a week.
Thacker's mother is a single mom, raising three teenagers on one income. The extreme home situation and circumstances caused by the accident have created heavy hardships for the family financially leaving them with very little.
Just before summer vacation, Thacker's 17-year old brother (a junior at East Ridge) quit school to stay at home with his mother. The East Ridge High School guidance department has been devastated by the fact there is nothing they can do to help the family with care-giving for their mother. Thacker and her younger sister (13-years old) are also helping her brother after school and during the summer vacation break.
When we followed up with Thacker in late May she reported that her mother is now doing well. "After waiting three long months she was finally approved by her to put a little pressure on her leg and she can walk using a walker a little at a time," she said. "Her neck has healed and she no longer needs a neck brace."
"I am so thankful for this scholarship because now that my brother wrecked my car, the only vehicle my family had left, we will need to save all the money we can to buy a new one to get my mom and now my sister (who has scoliosis) to their doctor appointments," Thacker said.
Thacker received very little financial aid and would had to wait a few years to attend college or take out a significant amount of student loans.
Thacker plans on attending Pikeville College located in Pikeville, KY this fall where she will pursue a degree in nursing.
She will be introduced to the Kingsport Chamber Board of Director on Monday, June 27.
You can read Thacker's touching essay of one Santa Train experience that changed her outlook on life and the inspiration she used from a dear cousin's letter that motivated her to excel in school and gave her inspiration to carry on during these last few months. You can read the full essay online at KingsportChamber.org and on the Santa Train Facebook page.
The Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce awards its Santa Train Scholarship to a graduating senior attending high school along the Santa Train route that runs from Kingsport to Pikeville, Ky.
Recipients are chosen based upon grade point average, financial need, extracurricular activities, work records and an advisor's recommendation. Thacker is the twenty-eighth recipient since the first scholarship was awarded in 1989 totaling $140,000.
Co-sponsored by the Kingsport Chamber, CSX Transportation, Food City and Kids Wish Network, the Santa Train is an annual 110-mile train journey through Appalachia where volunteers from Kingsport take 15 tons of gifts, clothes, candies and toys to children in Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Santa Train is now in its 69th year and will run Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011.
Started as a way for area businesses to thank their patrons, the train now accepts physical and monetary donations, including only new clothes and new toys. Financial gifts from the public have helped establish the Santa Train Scholarship for students who live along the train's route.
Please send donations to the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce - Attn: Santa Train – 151 East Main Street – Kingsport, TN, 37660
For more information and/or continuous updates about the Santa Train Scholarship or the Santa Train, please visit the Kingsport Chamber on Facebook, Twitter and KingsportChamber.org. Find more on the Facebook fan page, The Santa Train, and on Twitter @TheSantaTrain or call (423) 392-8800.
The Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit business organization comprised of nearly 1,000 members. The Kingsport Chamber's mission is to utilize resources and focus efforts on enhancing a strong and viable business environment for the Kingsport area.
For more information on the Kingsport Chamber, go to KingsportChamber.org or call (423) 392-8800. We're social too; follow us on our Facebook page, Your Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, and on our Twitter account, @kptchamber.
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Regards,
Marybeth McLain
Small Business Services Marketing Manager, KOSBE
Administrative Coordinator, TSBDC at ETSU Kingsport Affiliate Office
Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce
Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship
151 E. Main Street, Kingsport, TN 37660
Ph. (423) 392.8811 • Fax (423) 392.8839
