THE April ADVOCATE OF THE MONTH IS:

Judy Thornton!

(Judy pictured in yellow with Training Coordinator Janet Davidson at the April 2019 CASA Graduation Celebration)

At this time last year, Judy Thornton was just embarking on her journey to become a CASA Advocate. She officially became a CASA in April 2019 and has been a wonderful part of the CASA team ever since.

Judy is one of the sweetest, most patient, and most caring women you could meet! She juggles CASA alongside her busy work schedule, and she makes it a priority to see her CASA child (who is 2 hours away) as much as she can. She attends trainings and court hearings and does an excellent job of keeping in touch with everyone involved in her case.

While 90% of a CASA’s work is done outside of the courtroom, Judy makes her time in court relevant and impactful for the children she serves. She has a very strong, and confident presence in court, and makes sure that all parties are aware of her concerns. She has been continually patient when her court hearings were rescheduled, and always returns to the next hearing with a smile on her face.

With COVID-19 interfering with child visits, Judy has made sure to schedule FaceTime visits. She uses these visits to visit with the family and has made plans to use FaceTime to read books to her CASA child.

When she began with CASA, Judy stated her reason for being an advocate was to “help one child to become all that they can be”. She has worked toward that aspiration every day and we’re grateful for all she does at CASA and for her CASA children.