DOE APPOINTS NEW MEMBERS TO
OAK RIDGE SITE SPECIFIC ADVISORY BOARD
 

Oak Ridge High School seniors Katie Meersman (left) and Stephanie Jernigan (right) and Powell resident Tim Myrick have recently joined the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.  Meersman and Jernigan are student representatives and Myrick is a board member.  Not pictured is student representative Zach Ludwig, a junior at Karns High School in Knoxville.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the appointment of one regular member and three high school representatives to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board.  

The Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) is a federally-chartered citizen’s panel that provides recommendations to DOE’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management (EM) Program.

“We’re very pleased to welcome this new member and these students,” said Steve McCracken, DOE Oak Ridge Assistant Manager for EM.  “The SSAB plays an important role in providing public input on EM program activities on the Oak Ridge Reservation.  We appreciate the fact that they’re willing to volunteer to serve on the Board.”

Appointed to fill a vacancy on the board as a regular member is Tim Myrick.  He will retire in October from his position as Director of Facilities Strategic Planning for UT-Battelle at

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).  Prior to serving as program manager for the development of ORNL’s new research campus, Myrick worked for 27 years in Oak Ridge’s EM and waste management activities.

Myrick lives with his wife, Teresa, in the Claxton community outside Oak Ridge.  He received a bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Florida.  Other community organizations he is involved in are Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties, Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.  He attends First Presbyterian Church in Oak Ridge and has been involved in the early conceptual design work and fundraising for the new Oak Ridge High School (ORHS). 

Stephanie Jernigan, Zach Ludwig, and Katie Meersman are the new ORSSAB student representatives.  Each year, high school students are seated on the Board to represent the views and interests of area youth.  At least one student is selected from ORHS, and others are chosen on a rotating basis from schools in surrounding areas.

Jernigan is a senior at ORHS.  She has been a part of the Sister City exchange program and traveled to Japan.  Jernigan also hosted several Japanese students in her home.  As a member of the ORHS orchestra, she has studied violin for eight years.  She plans to put her experience from working in a law firm to work and pursue a career in environmental or health care law after college.

Ludwig is a junior at Karns High School in Knoxville.  He is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Academic Team of Karns High School.  He also has a part-time job.  Ludwig plans to become a doctor, pursuing the field of psychiatry.

Meersman, also a senior at ORHS, is a member of the National Honor Society and the Key Club.  She spends time volunteering at Woodland Elementary School, in the children’s room of the Oak Ridge Public Library and the Oak Ridge Children’s Museum.  She attended a Model United Nations conference in Washington, D.C.  Meersman plans to study political science or history in college and wants a career as an attorney.

The ORSSAB meets the second Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at the DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike, in Oak Ridge.  Meetings of the Board and its committees are open to the public, and notices are posted on the Board’s Web site (http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/em/ssab).

-DOE-

R-04-026