Missouri State Parks Youth Corps Wins Governor's Award 

On Wednesday, October 24, 2012, four work teams were awarded the prestigious Governor's Award for Quality and Productivity (GAQP) during a special ceremony held in the State Capitol Building, Jefferson City.The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Missouri Department of Economic Development, Division of Workforce Development, spearheaded the successful nomination of the State Parks Youth Corps Program.

Since its establishment in 2010, the Youth Corps has employed over 2,000 youth men and women to work on a variety of projects in state parks and historic sites across Missouri, from roofing, painting and renovations to interpretative programs, artifact cataloging and video production. Locally, the St. Louis Agency on Training and Employment (SLATE) Missouri Career Centers helped implement youth enrollment and job readiness training in partnership with the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, home of the famed ragtime composer from 1900 to 1903 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

SLATE is honored to be a part of the winning application team, and congratulates the many individuals and organizations that implemented the program, and who made receipt of the Governor's Award possible: Missouri State Parks, the Division of Workforce Development, numerous Workforce Investment Boards statewide, North Central Missouri College and the Full Employment Council.

Alice Prince, Youth Services Manager, attended the ceremony in Jefferson City on behalf of SLATE. The winners were commended by Governor Jay Nixon, who stated that the award recipients "represent the best in innovative thought, and serve as examples for all of us in maximizing our limited taxpayer resources."The GAQP was established in 1988 to recognize Missouri state employees that champion service excellence, efficiency, innovation, technology and process improvement; 24 total applications were received this year.