Buck recognized with President's Volunteer Service Award

Tamara Zellars Buck, professor and chairwoman of the Department of Mass Media at Southeast Missouri State University, was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award on Friday for her service to the Cape Girardeau community in a surprise award ceremony at the university.

During the presentation, Buck was recognized for her dedication to ensuring the betterment of others and the community through her 4,010 hours of service.

When accepting the award, Buck paid special tribute to her parents, who were sitting front row. She said she admires them for their dedication to community service and social justice.

"They are always cheering, but I am also very aware that I learned every bit of service-minded work that I do, I learned it from them," she said.

She also thanked all her colleagues, the dean of the Holland College of Arts and Media and school administrators.

The President's Volunteer Service Award is the highest award given as part of the President's Volunteer Service Award Program (PVSA). Global International Alliance and People of Choice, a certifying organization granted authority to give out PVSA to volunteers, presented the award to Buck.

Buck was not told about the award beforehand and the presenter said she was happy everyone who knew was able to keep it a secret. The same day, Buck received the 2021 Cape Girardeau Zonta Club's Woman of Achievement Award.

Southeast resident Carlos Vargas offered words of praise for Buck.

"We are lucky and proud that you are here, that you are part of this community, that you are part of this faculty, that you impact students, because that is what we are all about here," he said. "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to have you as a member of this community because that makes us richer."

Buck is a former journalist and public relations practitioner. She holds a juris doctorate emphasizing intellectual property law from the University of Memphis in Tennessee. Her Master of Administration specializing in public administration and Bachelor of Arts in mass communication are both from Southeast Missouri State University.

Buck is a teacher, scholar and author who has been recognized for her work as faculty adviser to the Arrow, the student newspaper at Southeast. She is a highly called upon presenter and trainer who has led national conversations over the past two years on the need for improved media diversity and inclusion inside newsrooms and within news content.

She serves as the board chairwoman of the People Organized to Revitalize Community Healing (PORCH) Initiative and director of public relations for the Missouri Conference Lay Organization of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and she holds multiple leadership positions at Perry Chapel AME Church in Charleston, Missouri.

She has also served the City of Cape Girardeau, co-founder of the Professional Sisters Network, Lincoln University Cooperative Extension Program--Kids' Beat, Cape Girardeau Boys and Girls Club and Cape Girardeau Civic Center Board of Directors.

The President's Volunteer Service Award was founded by the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation in 2003. The award honors individuals whose service positively impacts communities in every corner of the United States and inspires others to take action. More information may be found at www.presidentialserviceawards.gov.