Junior Achievement of Greater South Carolina volunteer honored at National Volunteer Summit
May 30, 2017
Junior Achievement (JA) of Greater South Carolina announced that David Pankau, CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, was chosen from more than 237,000 U.S. volunteers as one of 11 recipients of the organization’s most prestigious national award for volunteerism, the Gold Leadership Award. Pankau was honored in March at the Junior Achievement USA (JA USA) Volunteer Summit.
JA’s Gold Leadership Award honors volunteer excellence and is presented in recognition of leadership in supporting and expanding JA’s student impact, resources, operational excellence, and sustainability. The Gold Leadership Awards honor the recipients’ JA volunteer service during the 2015-2016 school year.
“Our local business community’s support of JA is critical to achieving our mission, which is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy,” said Casey Pash, president of JA of Greater South Carolina. “David Pankau of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is a remarkable example of that spirit of dedication and service to others. In a very real way, he helps South Carolina JA students get the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.”
Over his 13 years of being involved with JA, David and his employees at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina have taught over 9,000 students skills of financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. He also served as a local JA board member for 10 years from 2004 to 2014.
Junior Achievement’s entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness programs are delivered nationwide—typically in classrooms during the school day, by volunteer role models from the local business community.
Pictured – Charlotte Berry –Junior Achievement Board Chair with David Pankau and Casey Pash, President of Junior Achievement
About Junior Achievement USA® (JA)
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Visit www.ja.org for more information or contact Casey Pash at [email protected] or 803.252.1974.
