America Selects Virginia Resident Jeff Turner as One of the Nation's Top Hometown...

America Selects Virginia Resident Jeff Turner as One of the Nation's Top
Hometown Heroes
Blackwater/Nottoway Riverkeeper, Jeff Turner, Reaches Finals of 6th Annual
Volvo for life Awards for Protecting Waterways and Educating River Communities

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- For the past nine weeks hundreds
of thousands of members of the American public have been casting their votes
online to decide the country's favorite hometown heroes in the 6th Annual
Volvo for life Awards (http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com). The polls are
officially closed and Sedley's (Charles) Jeff Turner is among nine finalists
for this prestigious award.
The final decision now rests in the hands of a distinguished panel of
celebrity judges who are experts on care, conscience and character -- Hank
Aaron, Sen. Bill Bradley, Maya Lin, Dr. Sally Ride, Eunice Kennedy Shriver,
Mae Jemison and Edsel Ford. The judges will now review Turner and eight other
finalists' nominations to select the program's top three winners in the
categories of Safety, Quality of Life and Environment and the Volvo for life
Awards grand award winner.
Turner, who patrols and protects the Blackwater and Nottoway Rivers as the
World's only volunteer Riverkeeper, is one of three finalists being honored in
the Volvo for life Awards environment category. Turner is guaranteed to
receive $25,000 in charitable contributions from Volvo and if he's named the
winner in his category, his award would be $100,000. If named grand award
winner, he would receive the added bonus of a Volvo car for life.
If Turner is selected as a category winner, Volvo will fly him and his
fellow winners to New York to be honored at the world famous 42nd St.
Cipriani's during the Volvo for life Awards ceremony on March 19, 2008. The
program's grand award winner will also be announced that evening.
"Being selected as a finalist in the Volvo for life Awards hero program is
something I thought would never happen to me," Turner said. "For one thing
I've never won so much as a hamburger in my entire life. It is truly a great
feeling though to know that so many people believe in what I have done and am
doing to protect the Blackwater & Nottoway Rivers."
More About Jeff Turner
In 2000, Turner and his devoted dog, Moonpies, began a seven-year
adventure exploring the Blackwater and Nottoway Virginia Rivers and protecting
them from pollution. Turner, who is a paraplegic and paralyzed on the left
side of his body, volunteers countless days patrolling the rivers and
educating others about the importance of clean, wild waterways.
Despite challenges presented by Turner's medical condition, he and
Moonpies patrol the rivers alone looking for signs of pollution. But Turner's
efforts don't stop on the rivers' shores. He speaks at schools, community
centers and other locations, educating the community and recruiting members
for the Blackwater-Nottoway Riverkeeper Program (BNRP). Since Turner founded
the BNRP in 2000, he has recruited 121 members, all from small communities
along the rivers.
Turner shares his passion and his river travels with others through his
column in the Tidewater News and his BNRP blog, which has a faithful following
in the river communities. Turner's love for nature has driven him to be the
only designated Riverkeeper working on a voluntary basis in the world.
About the Volvo for Life Awards
Since 2002, Volvo Cars of North America has identified more than 18,000
everyday heroes in its annual Volvo for life Awards
(http://www.volvoforlifeawards.com) and has contributed millions of dollars to
their causes. Three individuals are recognized annually in the award program's
Safety, Quality of Life, Environment categories. Each winner in these
categories receives a $100,000 contribution to the charity of his or her
choice. The program's grand winner receives an added bonus of a Volvo car for
life. The remaining six Safety, Quality of Life and Environment finalists
receive donations of $25,000 to the charities of their choice. Additionally,
the Butterfly Award is given to an exceptional child hero. Children who are no
older than 16 as of October 15, 2007 are eligible to receive this award, which
includes a $25,000 donation to a charity selected by the winning child hero
and his or her family. The remaining Butterfly finalists each receive a
$10,000 contribution. The award is in honor of Alexandra Scott, a Volvo for
life Awards winner from Wynnewood, Pa. who, before passing away at age 8 from
cancer, raised more than $1 million for pediatric cancer research through
lemonade sales and other fundraising activities. Alex's parents select the
winner from three finalists.
The other finalists in the 6th Annual Volvo for life Awards are:

Safety:
-- Marilyn Adams, 57 of Earlham, Iowa, founded Farm Safety 4 Just Kids
and set out on a mission to promote safe farm environments across the
country and eliminate farm-related child health hazards, injuries and
fatalities.
-- Ronald Dundon, 58 of Kalamazoo, Mich., founded the AED (Automatic
External Defibrillator) Fund of Kalamazoo County to help increase the
chances of survival for future sudden cardiac arrest victims in
underserved communities.
-- Through his program "Driver's Edge," Las Vegas-native Jeff Payne, 40,
teaches thousands of youth how to avoid vehicle accidents and drive
safely.

Quality of Life:
-- John Dau, 35 of Syracuse, N.Y., has raised $700,000 to improve
healthcare and literacy in southern Sudan.
-- Matthew Sanford, 42 of Orono, Minn., founded Mind Body Solutions, a
nonprofit organization dedicated to revolutionizing the rehabilitation
process.
-- Darius Weems, 18 of Athens, Ga., works to raise money and awareness
for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) research through "Darius Goes
West," a documentary that chronicles his courageous journey across
America.

Environment:
-- Lorraine Kerwood, 47 of Eugene, Ore., created an electronics recycling
and distribution center, NextStep, which brings refurbished computers
to disadvantaged communities.
-- Zander Srodes, 17 of Cape Haze, Fla., has educated more than 5,000
students about sea turtle conservation through a series of educational
presentations called "Turtle Talks" which he developed along with a
children's activity book on the subject.

Butterfly Award:
-- Zach Bonner, 10 of Valrico, Fla., founded the Little Red Wagon
Foundation, Inc., an organization that collects and donates backpacks
filled with food and school items to disadvantaged children
nationwide.
-- Rocco Fiorentino, 11 of Voorhees, N.J., has been blind since birth and
works with the Little Rock Foundation, a nonprofit organization
established by his family to provide resources for children, parents,
therapists, and educators who are facing issues related to blindness.
-- Dallas Jessup, 16 of Vancouver, Wash., wrote and produced "Just Yell
Fire," a film for women of all ages illustrating simple self-defense
strategies to defend against an attack, kidnapping or sexual assault.

SOURCE Volvo Cars of North America

Anna Kruchowski of Haberman & Associates, +1-612-372-6459,
anna@habermaninc.com, for Volvo Cars of North America