Kelly Matlock, a former staff member of Jefferson County Public Health, recently received the Department of Social and Health Services Exemplary Lifetime Achievement Award for her substance abuse prevention work in East Jefferson County.

She was nominated by the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery.

“I am so grateful I had the opportunity to work with the best at Jefferson County Public Health and with a community as committed as Jefferson County to the health and well-being of youth and families,” the now retired Matlock said in a press release.

A strong advocate for prevention science, Matlock has been dedicated to building on community readiness, strategic planning and implementation of evidence-based programs in the community coalition work she did in both Port Townsend and Chimacum, according to a press release.

This is the second Exemplary Achievement Award that Matlock has received. In 2012, she and Anne Dean were honored for the work they did using the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study as the foundation for their community efforts in substance abuse prevention in spearheading the “Our Kids: Our Business” child abuse and neglect information campaign, and for bringing the University of Washington’s Communities That Care training to Jefferson County.

Denise Banker with Jefferson County Public Health is the new coalition coordinator for the health department’s Chimacum Prevention Coalition. She now spearheads the community substance abuse prevention efforts.

Anyone interested in helping in efforts to prevent substance abuse and improve the lives of youths and families can contact Banker at 385-9438.