(NASHVILLE, TN) October 14, 2011 – The Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) today honored State Senator Doug Overbey (R-Maryville) with their 2011 Outstanding Legislator Award. The top legislative honor was awarded to Overbey at a statewide meeting of the organization at the Cool Springs Marriott in Franklin, Tennessee.
“Senator Overbey is being honored for his accomplishments as a legislator, his willingness to listen and his openness and accessibility,” said TNA Executive Director Sharon Atkins, MSN, RN. “When contacted by nurse constituents, he is always quick to respond and take the time to listen to what is being said. He has thoughtfully and adeptly considered advanced issues related to health and healthcare in Tennessee. The Tennessee Nurses Association appreciates the opportunity to partner with him to improve healthcare by supporting a robust practice of professional nursing in the state.”
“I am very honored to receive this award,” said Senator Overbey. “Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system. I look forward to continuing to work with the state’s nurses to improve the quality of healthcare for our citizens and to bring innovative new solutions to the issues we face in our state.”
On September 11, 2001, the peace and security of our nation was shattered by cowardly terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 innocent and brave people at the World Trade Center towers in New York, at the Pentagon, and in the fields of Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Although the terrorists’ goal was to strike a powerful blow to the hearts of all Americans and tear at the fabric our nation, arising from the very ashes of that tragedy came a remarkable spirit of unity, compassion, and determination that will never be forgotten, just as we will never forget those who were lost and injured on that day and those who rose in service during the rescue and recovery effort and in defense of our nation both here at home and abroad.
Ten years ago, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, we were mourning those lost and trying to make sense of a senseless tragedy. Through collective grief, scores of Americans acted on our innate nature to serve and sought out ways to lend a hand, offer comfort and, ultimately, create positive change in our communities.
That spirit of service has grown over the past decade and more than 63 million Americans now give their time, talent, voice, and money each year to address the challenges we face. This extraordinary outpouring of service powerfully demonstrates that people are central to creating positive change in our Nation and State.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, we have the opportunity to create a permanent and positive legacy that rekindles the spirit of unity that existed immediately after that day and honors the victims, heroes, and all those who rose in service in response to the terrorist attacks that changed our nation.
The 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance is the day we give tribute by doing something from our hearts that benefits and enriches someone else – something meaningful to us in memory of others. It is an important, national milestone that brings us together through the powerful and unifying force of service.
In observance of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, Volunteer Tennessee is joining the national effort to create one million acts of service. The intent is to build an enduring movement and legacy event to pay tribute annually to our national spirit of giving.
As citizens of the Volunteer State, it makes sense for us to show our volunteer spirit. Acts of service can be big or small, performed individually or as part of a group.
Visit www.911day.org, the official site of the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance initiative, to explore and support charitable causes of interest, find volunteer opportunities, and post personal good deeds.
Those who want to encourage friends, family and colleagues to participate in the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance can take advantage of tools on 911day.org. The site also provides ways to share stories of service through social media channels.
Supporters can create links to 911day.org through their Twitter and Facebook accounts, download and install 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance widgets on their personal web pages and blogs, or share their experiences serving on the public forums and message boards.
For families and teachers interested in providing constructive instruction to their children and students on the importance of service on Sept. 11 and beyond, 911day.org provides free online lesson plans and tools on how to organize service projects. More than 4,000 teachers have already pre-registered to use these materials in schools this year.
State Senator Doug Overbey joined members of the Alcoa Police Department in recognizing an officer who's gone above and beyond the call of duty.
State Senator Doug Overbey joined members of the Alcoa Police Department in recognizing an officer who’s gone above and beyond the call of duty.
Officer Jeff Parson is a father of 7 who is active in his department and still finds time to raise money for programs that discourage drunk driving.
His passion, which was noted by his peers, is apparent in his daily duties.
He was surprised Monday with the Officer of the Year Award.
Officer Parson said through his seven years of service he’s learned making positive changes centers on getting to know your community. “I’m all about community and getting involved in the community, and it’s just nice to be recognized for stuff that I enjoy doing,” explained Parson.
Senator Overbey said he and Parson share a passion for spreading the message about all the bad things that happen when people drive drunk.
Sen. Doug Overbey, left, Tennessee Disability Coalition Executive Director Carol Westlake and Rep. Richard Montgomery address the audience at King Family Library. Photo by Rachel Osborn
SEVIERVILLE — To celebrate the recent passing and implementation of Senate Bill 607, a bill that requires health insurance policies to provide hearing aids for children in Tennessee that need them, a reception was held at King Family Library in honor of Sen. Doug Overbey and Rep. Richard Montgomery.
“We engaged with a lot of parents who have children with hearing loss this session,” Tennessee Disability Coalition Executive Director Carol Westlake said. “The parents were actively involved in trying to get the bill passed. When (it) passed, parents told us they wanted to say thank you. This (reception) gave parents and community members a chance to.”
Sponsored by Overbey and Montgomery, the bill requires insurance companies to provide coverage up to $1,000 per children’s hearing aid for each ear, every three years until age 18, for dependents of the policy holder.
By providing children with the aids they need, the bill will lift the financial burdens placed on parents. For Susan Hiscutt of Kingsport, the passing of this bill was crucial.
Hiscutt’s 14-year-old son suffers from hearing loss. He was diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome, a condition that affects eyesight and hearing, at only a few days old. At 10 months, Aaron received his first pair of hearing aids. Since then he’s had three other sets.
Aaron’s first pair was a loaner set, while they waited to see if the family’s insurance would cover them. It wouldn’t. Aaron’s grandparents bought his second pair and his parents purchased the next two. Between the third and fourth pairs more than eight years passed, because the Hiscutts couldn’t afford to buy them.
“It took us eight years to save up the money to buy another pair,” Susan Hiscutt said. “We’ve never had insurance cover them.”
The most recent pair, purchased in August 2010, has the latest, up-to-date technology. It’s vastly improved Aaron’s life and communication skills.
“He’s been non-verbal all his life,” Hiscutt said. “Now he makes speech sounds.”
Though insurance didn’t cover her son’s last pair of hearing aids, Hiscutt hopes to benefit from the bill at least once. But if he doesn’t, she’s fine with that too.
“Now all kids will,” she said. “This legislation was important. Hopefully now kids won’t have to wait to see if their insurance covers it. This is very near and dear to me.”
Aware of hearing aids’ huge expense, Montgomery worked to help the struggling parents.
“Hearing aids are very expensive,” he said. “Most families can’t afford them. I felt like this mandate was the right thing to do. It should have been done a long time ago.”
In addition to to the financial aspects, the bill will positively impact the education of kids with hearing loss.
“Research shows us that a child with hearing loss that gets proper attention, care and hearing aids learns better,” Westlake said. “(The bill) also saves $400,000 per child over their public school career. It’s good for the state and local government, and the kids.”
Education was one of the main reasons Overbey and Montgomery decided to sponsor the bill.
“To know from the beginning they can learn like any other child—that makes me feel good,” Montgomery said. “I think (the bill) is critical if you have a child with disabilities. A child with hearing loss can’t hear the teacher and can’t learn. (Now) they’ll be so much more successful. We want to provide all the tools we can to make sure a child is successful in life. I think (the bill) will have a dramatic impact on children over the years.”
Overbey adds, “In doing some research, it seemed clear to me that hearing aids for children can make such a difference in their educational abilities. They can learn at a younger age. (This will) make them more productive throughout their lives.”
Montgomery and Overbey also express their thanks for all the hard work that went into making the bill possible.
“We have been trying to accomplish this for several years,” Overbey said. “We built on the work of a lot of people. (We’re here) to celebrate what many people working together were able to accomplish. I’m feeling really surprised and honored that so many people turned out at the library. It gives you a good feeling.”
Montgomery adds, “I just want to thank everyone who worked on it and helped us. We had a lot of help. Of all the legislation I’ve passed in my 13 years in the general assembly, this has done my heart more good than any other. I was extremely honored.”
The National Children’s Alliance honored State Sen. Doug Overbey with a prestigious award during a June 7 luncheon in Washington, D.C. On Wednesday, June 22, the award was presented again so local friends could share in the excitement.
The senator said he appreciated being given the Bud Crammer award by the national group, but said the “real heroes” are those on the frontlines fighting child abuse everyday.
“I accepted the award, but not for me,” said Overbey. “But on behalf of folks all across this state — like the board members and staff of New Hope — who are on the front lines of dealing with childhood abuse and misuse. They are the one who deserve the award, and I will display the plaque in my Nashville office in honor of those people all across the state who are on the front lines.”
Rick Shepard, past board president of New Hope, said Overbey was awarded the State Legislator of the Year award by the Tennessee Children’s Alliance in 2010 and his legislation supporting the advocacy of children has been tremendous. “He is the go-to guy in the state when it comes to children’s advocacy, and the national award couldn’t have been presented to a more deserving person,” Shepard said. “He and his wife, Kay, both have been involved in child advocacy for many, many years, and they have committed to continue to do so as well. “
Trudy Hughes, New Hope Children’s Advocacy Center executive director, said the idea for the reception on Wednesday, June 22, was to locally acknowledge the award Overbey received during the National Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., during a luncheon attended by 400 to 500 people.
Overbey said it was an unexpected honor to receive this award from the National Alliance for Children. “It was even more meaningful at New Hope on Wednesday, where I was with friends and board members, and for the award to be presented again by Rick Shepard. It was great to share the occasion with the folks in here in Blount County,” Overbey said.
Hughes said the reception was also a time to make two important announcements for New Hope. The first was that the National Children’s Alliance has reissued accreditation for New Hope for another five years and that the SunTrust Foundation presented a $5,000 check to New Hope for its new child abuse prevention program. “In addition to doing the local presentation of the award, we were just notified that national accreditation has been given to us again for another five years, making us one of 500 child advocacy programs in the nation to be nationally accredited,” said Hughes.
Hughes said New Hope applied to the SunTrust Foundation for the grant to assist in funding a prevention program they kicked off in April. “It is called Stewards of Children, and it is the only evidence-based prevention program in the country,” she said.
The program is geared to adults, and New Hope staffers and volunteers already have made eight presentations.
“We have reached 150 people, making presentations to Denso managers, for various church groups, child care groups and an open community forum with 82 present at Maryville College,” she said. “The program and information is for everyone; there is no specific target. Anyone who has an interest and desire to help create a community where children are less victimized by child abuse can benefit from the presentations.”
Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, emailed this reporter today to say he’s very interested in the issues brought up in yesterday’s story on the changes to the HOPE lottery scholarship that will put a credit hour cap on students.
That’s because, as he pointed out in his email, he’s been pretty outspoken on the negative effects the credit hour cap could have on high-achieving students. Overbey has been talking to members of Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration, which initiated the legislation, and said he hopes to work with a legislative task force charged with balancing the lottery budget on working solutions to the cap. He stressed that he supports making the scholarship money available in the summer, and he was also quoted in Saturday’s story on the changes.
He vocalized his concerns in the Senate Finance Committee Meeting last month, where he said he was concerned the cap would become a “gotcha” for students who double major, take extra hours or change their major.
“So you’re taking extra hours and then you get to seven semesters and you’re over 120 (hours), you have no degree and you get a letter saying you don’t have a scholarship,” Overbey told committee members. “I really support the idea (of summer school), but I think every student who qualifies should get eight semesters.”
See his full comments (starting at the 2:20 mark) and the debate on bill in the finance committee hearing below. The bill passed last month and will go into effect this fall.
(NASHVILLE, TN), May 25, 2011 – Before adjourning the 2011 legislative session on Saturday, the Tennessee General Assembly approved two strong anti-crime bills sponsored by Senator Doug Overbey (R-Maryville), including legislation closing a loophole in state law that has allowed sexual predators to escape prosecution on a technicality. Senate Bill 69, adds wording to Tennessee law to ensure that law enforcement posing as minors can be used to prosecute cases where sexual predators use electronic means to solicit those under the age of 18. The companion bill in the House, House Bill 154, was sponsored by Rep. Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville).
“Law enforcement should have the ability to conduct an operation to catch sexual predators who prey on our children here in Tennessee,” said Senator Overbey. “This bill closes the loophole in state law to ensure these predators are prosecuted regardless of the mode of communication they use to solicit a child.”
Currently it is a Class E felony for a person, 18 years of age or older, to intentionally persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity by electronic communication, mail or Internet service, or to display pornographic material through these means. If the minor is less than 13 years of age, a violation is a Class C felony.
“Our laws must keep up with the new technology used by sexual predators every day in America to victimize children,” added Overbey. “This legislation closes the loophole so our law enforcement officers can successfully prosecute offenders of this terrible crime.”
The General Assembly also approved Senate Bill 1456, sponsored by Overbey, to authorize judges to allow a district attorney to use a wiretap when the interception may provide evidence of a criminal gang-related activities. Currently, wiretap authority is only allowed when criminal homicide or drug felonies are involved. This legislation would also add home invasions to the list of gang-related activities where a wiretap may be authorized.
“Criminal gangs are present in many communities in our state, as too many citizens live under constant threat of home invasion by these groups,” added Overbey. “This bill will give law enforcement the opportunity to work on the preventative end of this crime and hopefully deter burglaries and the more serious threat of bodily harm to the victims in their own homes at the hands of these gangs.”
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