Fuller

For 34 years, Bedford County resident Ernest Fuller has worked to bring humane treatment to those incarcerated at the Blair County Prison through the all-volunteer organization The Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Prison Society.

The 81-year-old is being recognized by the Pennsylvania Prison Society with its Volunteer of the Year Award on Sept. 17 in Philadelphia.

A resident of Six Mile Run, Fuller is a former secretary-treasurer of Broad Top Township and a retired business owner and a Quaker. He is described by fellow volunteers as humble, devoted, calm and persistent.

“I’ve spent most of my life studying criminal justice and working with scholars, practitioners and volunteers in the field,” stated Nathan Kruis, Ph.D., who is an associate professor of Criminal Justice at Penn State Altoona. “I don’t think I have ever met a person as devoted to addressing the needs of our carceral population as Ernest is. You can tell he genuinely wants to help people reform their lives and successfully reintegrate back into society.”

Fuller serves as co-convener of the local chapter with Kathy Rhodes of Sinking Valley, a volunteer for eight years. She’s assumed some administrative tasks such as email communications about the chapter’s monthly meetings, scheduling cell block tours and more as Fuller steps back.

“He has a lot of things that he’s doing and wants to share some of the responsibilities,” Rhodes said. “I’m just a worker bee. He is still the brains of the outfit.”

Fuller has vast knowledge of the prison facilities and serves as a valuable mentor to new volunteers, Rhodes said. Personally, he’s taught her “how to be a team player, to look at both sides and to remember our role in all that we do.”

Seeing both sides to a problem or complaint raised by an inmate to the society has helped foster positive relations with corrections officers and prison officials, she said. Fuller has shown her it’s important to get “the rest of the story” from prison staff.

“He’s taught me to be more thoughtful and to respond instead of being reactionary,” Rhodes said.

Fuller became involved in the prison society in 1991 when the New Zealand Society of Friends reached out to the Quakers in Philadelphia and asked them to visit a young New Zealand woman imprisoned in Blair County. The Philadelphia Quakers turned to the Dunnings Creek Friends Meeting where Fuller became involved.

He recalled meeting with the woman prisoner, where “it’s like a dungeon depicted in old movies. It seemed like a dungeon, it was a dungeon and sadly, it’s still a dungeon,” Fuller said.

At that time, participation in the local prison society had dwindled to one member. Fuller volunteered and hasn’t stopped. He’s grown the volunteer base to about 15 people.

A 20-year prison society volunteer, Edmundo Grab of Hollidaysburg credits Fuller with the volunteers gaining access to the prison to see conditions for themselves and to talk with prisoners about their concerns.

Fuller, Grab said, is the society’s “moral guidepost. He’s very pleasant and very humble.”

Fuller and the other volunteers visit different cell blocks monthly, meet with prisoners, follow up with prison officials, help contact inmates’ relatives and gather resources from the community for prisoners. There have been some improvements, such as the addition of a women’s wing, an upgrade to the law library and more recently a greater variety of subject matter in the books that circulate on a book cart more frequently.

“He’s helped provide shoes, clothing and books for inmates in the prison. We are fortunate to have him in Blair County,” Kruis said.

Fuller, Grab said, focuses on the society’s mission to advocate for humane treatment for those incarcerated who have no voice, little hope and are often forgotten.

Another volunteer, Bob DuPont of Hollidaysburg said of Fuller, “There are not a lot of people like him; he exhibits a selfless dedication to helping others in even the smallest ways. It’s very admirable. He gives his time immeasurably and has done it for years. That’s a solid testament to his conviction to do good.”

DuPont credits Fuller’s “calm and persistent demeanor with forging positive relations with the prison staff and administration. We work collaboratively with prison staff from the warden on down.”

Additionally, he said, Fuller has an “understanding of the flow of the prison from intake to release from start to finish. He’s had that flow in his head for over 30 years — that knowledge is so impressive.”

Kathy Skebeck of Dysart has volunteered with the local chapter of the prison society for about 10 years.

“He is so organized and he is a great communicator,” she said. “He is well respected among all the people involved.”

When talking to Fuller, it becomes clear he sees the person, not a prisoner.

“I’ve had inmates cry when they talk to me because they realize there is someone who realizes they are a human being just like everyone else. We all make mistakes in our lives. I’ve never had to pay full price for my mistakes, but I could have. Once someone is involved in the criminal justice system, it’s very hard to get out of it unless they have support from family or friends or someone who helps them make that transition back into society.”

Those interested in learning more about the Blair Chapter of the Pennsylvania Prison Society can visit the state office at www.prisonsociety.org or call 215-564-4775 and they will contact the local chapter.

The Fuller file

Name: Ernest Fuller

Age: 81

Residence: Six Mile Run, Bedford County

Education: Gettysburg College, with a degree in Philosophy

Employment: Retired, previously the owner of a small computer firm and secretary-treasurer of Broad Top Township

Community Service: Active with the township’s Six Mile Run Water Shed Clean Up organization; Blair County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Prison Society

Awards and honors: Pennsylvania Prison Society Volunteer of the Year award