Marilyn Slone is the chair for my advisory board, and she goes above and beyond in her role in our school and community to meet student needs and support our YSC. She has helped the YSC meet all mandatory action components, including the option component of Alleviation of Barriers. Marilyn has worked for AOC as the Court Designated Worker in the 21st District over 20 years. She works with our families and students to advocate on their behalf and help them change their futures, and many feel she is like a second mother to them. She never fails to lend kind words or advice to show our students how much she cares about them. When necessary, she can also be a proponent of tough love. During times of budget cuts, she has organized food and school supplies drives to meet basic student needs for this YSC by recruiting help from community partners, such as local businesses, colleges, and the state police. Marilyn is a part of the local and regency inter-agency councils, is the secretary for KY ASAP in Rowan county, involved with ASAP in Bath County, a member of the Unite Coalition of Rowan County, Project Citizen, the Child Abuse Prevention task force, and the Street Law program. She is also a member of the Rowan County FAIR team. Marilyn attends service team meetings for all schools in Rowan County weekly, and is adamant about bridging the barriers that create truancy for the families and students we serve. She helps with Truth and Consequences both in Rowan and Bath County Middle Schools, teaching students about substance abuse. She teaches classes with the KSP about internet safety for every middle school student each year for several years. She volunteers her time with Red Ribbon Week activities each year, and participates in March against drugs, and Project Prom. She trains staff members in Rowan and Bath County schools in Juvenile Law. She is in charge of directing the Truancy Diversion program in Rowan and Bath counties, which the YSC participates in. She buys the materials also. She coordinates courts to classrooms, which teaches our middle school students about the parts of government and how local government runs and operates. For this and other work teaching students about law, she was awarded a Law Related Education award in Frankfort in 2009. She participates in the school career fair, reality store, and operation preparation. Although Marilyn undertakes all of these endeavors, she has found the time for 24 years attended most all softball games for the middle school and high school and supported the coaches and the team and represented the county as a positive supporter. These games are at nights and on weekends during rain, snow, sleet, heat and dirt. Her husband founded the Rowan County Lady Vikings softball team in in 1995. For these reasons and more, if any individual deserves the award for creating Bridges Over Barriers, that one individual is Marilyn Slone.