EMERSON DONATES $150,000 TO
CARL PERKINS CENTER FOR PREVENTION OF
CHILD ABUSE IN HENDERSON COUNTY
Donation will help fund building expansion
LEXINGTON, Tenn., March
10, 2007 – Emerson, the global technology and engineering company
that owns and operates the Leroy-Somer alternator manufacturing
facility in Lexington, Tenn., announced today it will donate
$150,000 over the next three years to help fund a facility expansion
for the Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of
Child Abuse in Lexington, Tenn.
Services
provided by the
Henderson
County
center have outgrown its current 3,125 square feet of available
space. The center plans to build on to the current facility and
double its available space at a total cost of $200,000. The Ayers
Foundation will contribute the remaining $50,000. Construction is
expected to begin in late spring or early summer.
“Emerson, Leroy-Somer and the Ayers Foundation have always been
strong supporters of the local Carl Perkins Center,” said Kellye
Franklin, president of the local advisory board for the Carl Perkins
Center. “We are so pleased to be the recipient of these much-needed
funds.”
Kim
Hendrix, county director of the Center, said, “We are very blessed
to have the support of Emerson, Leroy Somer and the Ayers
Foundation. I am truly humbled by their generosity. And we
appreciate Jim Ayers, Chairman of FirstBank/Ayers Foundation, for
helping us start this process over a year ago.”
The
Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse
provides support to families in preventing and dealing with child
abuse. The center combines a professional staff with trained
volunteers to provide quality services to children and their
families. Many of the families and children served by the center
are referred by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services,
community service agencies or the court system. The Henderson
County center worked with 120 families and 198 children in 1998; in
2006, the same facility served 172 families and 310 children.
“The
Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse
provides important human services to heal, educate, protect and
promote the welfare of children,” said Joey Morris, general manager
of the Emerson/Leroy-Somer facility in Lexington. “A number of our
employees have volunteered their time and resources to this
organization, including the late Kyle Hale, our former general
manager. On behalf of Emerson, Emerson Industrial Automation and
our Leroy-Somer employees, we are proud to support the
Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center
for the Prevention of Child Abuse and its mission of serving
children and counseling families in our community.”
Started in
1979 in Jackson, Tenn., by the National Exchange Club with the help
of legendary rockabilly performer Carl Perkins, the Exchange Club
Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse provides
support to families in preventing and dealing with child abuse in
West Tennessee and to help parents and children meet practical needs
of
preserving and improving the quality of family life. The nonprofit
organization now has 13 locations across West Tennessee providing
services to children and families, including the Henderson County
center.
About Emerson, Emerson Industrial
Automation and Leroy-Somer
Emerson
(NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, is
a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to
provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power,
process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and
appliance and tools businesses. Sales in fiscal 2006 were $20.1
billion. For more information, visit
www.Emerson.com.
Emerson Industrial Automation,
of which Leroy-Somer is a division, delivers manufacturing solutions
designed with leading technologies - including mechanical,
electrical and ultrasonic - to provide the most advanced industrial
automation possible for numerous and diverse industries worldwide.
The company's wide range of products and systems used in
manufacturing processes and other equipment includes motion control
systems, plastics joining, precision cleaning, materials-testing
equipment, fluid control valves, alternators, motors, and mechanical
power transmission drives and bearings. For more information, visit
www.emersonindustrialautomation.com..
About FirstBank
FirstBank is Tennessee’s largest
independently owned and operated bank, with 44 locations in 20
counties. The bank, headquartered in Lexington, Tenn., with nearly
$2 billion in total assets, has the resources to provide a variety
of comprehensive financial services and products to customers
statewide. FirstBank follows a community-banking model adopted by
its charter, Farmers State Bank, more than 100 years ago in Scotts
Hill, Tenn. As Tennessee’s premier community bank, FirstBank is
committed to its role as a leader in the communities it serves.
That commitment is reflected by Ayers Foundation Scholars program, a
scholarship fund established by FirstBank Chairman Jim Ayers to
advance higher education for young people in Tennessee. For more
information about FirstBank, a wholly owned subsidiary of First
South Bancorp, Inc., visit its Web site at
www.firstbankonline.com.
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