MEEKER | Meeker High School (MHS) Principal Amy Chinn welcomed the assembled group in the high school auditorium last Thursday to the 2017 awards assembly and student body president Madeline Amack led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chinn cheered the opportunity to recognize some of the wonderful accomplishments of Meeker students.
Jeff Hemingson, music instructor, began by recognizing the members of the Western Slope Honor Choir: Victoria Lasker, Brooke Ford, Brynlee Williams, Annelise Amack, Kolbi Franklin, Delenn Mobley, Korey Hood, Savanna May, Shelby Steele and Ridge Williams. The Western Slope Honor Choir practice and concert is held every year in Gunnison at Western State Colorado University.
Hemingson named Shelby Steele musician of the year. Appropriately, Steele was wearing a shirt emblazoned on the back with “music is my life.” This award goes to an upper-class student who is a leader in music and participates in both band and choir.
The band parents’ scholarship for $500, raised by the parents, is awarded to a senior who has been in the band for four years, has a minimum grade point average of 3.0, and is in the top 25 percent of their class. Kendra Nelson is the 2017 winner.
Margie Joy, Pioneers Medical Center (PMC) and the Pioneers Healthcare Foundation (PHF), thanked the assembly for including PMC stating that this was now the 10th year of their participation.
Kinzy Burke was chosen as the recipient of the PMC employees to employee scholarship. She said the employees, who raise the $500, recognized Burke’s passion, caring nature and work ethic as a part-time certified nurse assistant on the Walbridge Wing where “they all love her.” Burke is planning to pursue a degree in nursing at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The employees’ award was matched by the Foundation for a total of $1,000.
The PHF senior scholarship for $1,500 was awarded to Maggie Phelan, commended for her internship in physical and occupational therapy, and her knack for developing rapport with patients, Joy reported. Phelan plans to pursue an occupational therapy degree at Carroll College in Montana.
White River Rural Electric Association board president Bill Jordan and staffer Kari Matrisciano, presented the rural electric awards. Winners of the Washington, D.C. Youth Tour, June 8-15, were Mariela Rosas and Alicia Mobley. The winners for the summer Colorado Electric Education Institute Leadership Camp, which Matrisciano helps run in Steamboat Springs, were Gracie Bradfield and Lila Klinglesmith.
Winners of $1,000 renewable WREA scholarships were Meghan Smith, Casey Turner, Sheridan Harvey, Delenn Mobley, Kendra Nelson and Madeline Amack. Winners of WREA $500 renewable awards were Maggie Phelan, Lori Ann Klinglesmith and Cole Brown. Winners of one-time $1,000 awards were Kinzy Burke, Reese Pertile and Peyton Burke. WREA $500 one-time awards went to Patrick Williams and Cody Nielsen. Jordan expressed particular enthusiasm for Nielsen as he plans to study to become an electric lineman.
The Basin Electric Generation and Transmission $1,000 scholarship went to Linda Lombardi while the Tri-State G&T awards of $500 went to Nishiko Thelen and Anna Walsh.
Vickie LaRae Crawford represented the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5843, the Auxiliary, and Post #74 American Legion. She presented their Voice of Democracy essay awards to Sheridan Harvey, first place; Chase Rule, second; and Casey Turner, third. The American Legion Boys State recognition went to Sheridan Harvey and Casey Turner.
Kevin Amack spoke for the Rio Blanco Masonic Lodge #80, identifying Christopher Strate for the Masonic arts and sciences “outstanding junior” award which is selected by the high school faculty.
Meeker thespian alumnus and activity sponsor Robert Amick presented awards for the International Thespian Society Troupe 1284 recognizing students for distinguished contributions to drama and the performing arts. Honor and best thespian awards went to Savanna May, Madeline Amack, Charles Day, Dade Heck, Sena Zellers, Annelise Amack, Delenn Mobley, Brayden Woodward, Korey Hood and Ridge Williams.
Cassie McGuire presented the Meeker Sportsmen’s Club scholarship award of $800 to Cody Nielson. Applicants were asked to write an essay on the importance of the Second Amendment and McGuire said Nielson’s piece stressed the importance of hunting to our local culture.
Natural Soda’s Kirk Daehling presented their Bill Gunn scholarship award of $5,000, in recognition of a student who is planning to pursue higher education in engineering, geology, physical science or a related field. The student must be from Meeker, Rangely or Rifle. The 2017 recipient is Delenn Mobley who plans to attend the South Dakota School of Mines in Rapid City. This is the second year in a row that the award has gone to Meeker. Last year’s winner was T.J. Shelton, now attending the Colorado School of Mines.
Language arts instructor Cheri Robinson announced the creative writing awards stating that “words can paint joy and passion on paper.” Winners of her superior award in writing and production category were Shelbi Blazon Lagimoniere, Gracie Bradfield, Kenzie Turner, Lorena Martinez, Esmerelda Torres, Allie Willey and Christian Wilson. Excellent ratings for writing and production were presented to Angel Hall, Trevor Austin, Brooke Ford and Victoria Lasker.
Leif Joy presented the SGM Steve Westhoff scholarships to Chase Rule and Casey Turner. SGM, the Western Slope’s largest engineering firm, is headquartered in Glenwood Springs with offices in five other towns including Meeker. Since 2002, SGM has given up to five awards annually in honor of Westhoff, a field engineer, known for his integrity, humor and vast technical knowledge. Two of this year’s five awards went to these Meeker students. Rule expects to go to the University of Wyoming for civil and mechanical engineering while Turner is planning on mechanical engineering at the Colorado School of Mines.
Family and consumer sciences specialist Brenda Hummel issued awards based on skills learned and applied outside the classroom to Lesli Herrera-Valenzuela, Linda Lombardi and Alondra Olivas.
Denee Chintala presented the FFA awards. She described FFA as a co-curricular activity with a national organization “focused on career success, personal growth,and public speaking, involving kids who believe in the future of agriculture.” The awards reflect the students’ success at the state career development events in Fort Collins April 30-May 2. Winners were the gold team of Kale Burke, Pake Burke and Kenzie Turner for milk spitting; gold for vet science, Jeni Kincher; gold team for livestock evaluation of Jillian Bumguardner, Tannen Kennedy and Macy Collins; silver for farm business management, Delenn Mobley; for milk spitting quality, Stephen Walsh; and for vet science, Emily Beene; bronze team in floriculture went to Lacey Ford, Brooke Ford and Mary Baylie; bronze team in meats evaluation to Pat Williams, Dayton Willey and Kasey Rosendahl; and bronze team in ag mechanics to Charlie Day and Tevin Pelloni.
For supervised agricultural experience, recognition was given to state degrees earned by Meghan Smith for beef production-placement; Kasey Rosendahl for swine production-entrepreneurship; and Lori Ann Klinglesmith for beef production-entrepreneurship. Chintala mentioned that out of hundreds of competitors across the state, Klinglesmith, who invested more than $20,000 and made $50,000 on her registered Charolais cattle, was in the top 20 and will receive a bronze medal for proficiency in her beef production experience at the state FFA convention in Pueblo next month.
Chintala also recognized two students who will represent Meeker FFA at the June state convention as they were the high individuals regionally: Nick Massey for creed speaking and Macy Collins for prepared speaking.
Meeker coordinator for Colorado Northwestern Community College Iris Franklin announced the concurrent enrollment (CE) awardees and mentioned what a financial gift the program is to our students. She said more than 50 percent of Meeker students participate in CE classes. Meeker was one of the first school districts in the state availing itself of CE benefits beginning in the mid-1980s. Franklin recognized Liliana Rivas who will receive a $500 CNCC scholarship this fall for pursuit of an associate’s degree in social work at the Craig campus.
Chase Rule, honored for having completed the highest number of CE credit hours (50), will have received his Associates of Arts degree from CNCC by the time he graduates from MHS later this month.
Franklin also announced the Meeker PEO Chapter vocational scholarship of $500 going to Lesli Herrera-Valenzuela who’s headed to Colorado Mountain College in Rifle for criminal justice studies.
MHS counselor Trina K. Smith announced three awards for which the recipients were chosen by the school faculty and staff. Mariela Rosas received the University of Colorado outstanding junior award. Ellie Anderson and Kale Burke received designation as the two sophomore Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) winners. The Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence in Leadership award went to Madeline Amack.
Anderson and Burke will participate in HOBY programs which are conducted annually throughout the United States, serving local and international high school students. HOBY programs provide unique leadership training, service-learning and motivation-building experiences.
Principal Chinn gave Casey Turner his certificate of appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy which came through the office of Congressman Scott Tipton. Chinn stated that appointment to a U.S. service academy is an honor bestowed on only a few. Reports are that Turner will be making way for a lucky stand-by as he’s turning down the Air Force opportunity in order to use his Boettcher Scholarship at the Colorado School of Mines.
Next, Chinn turned her focus to the importance of attendance, both in school and life. She said Meeker students this year have done an excellent job overall being in school and learning. The high school had 11 students with perfect attendance this semester, eight of whom had yearlong perfect attendance. The eight are Ellie Anderson, Shelbi Blazon Lagimoniere, Jose Garcia, Logan Hughes, Madison Kindler, Maggie Phelan, Mariela Rosas, and Nishiko Thelen. The second semester’s additional three are Garrett Frantz, Alicia Mobley and Brayden Woodward. Chinn believes perfect attendance is a sign of dedication that foretells great success.
The unsung hero award is selected by the school staff and “goes to a senior who has been very helpful behind the scenes and who does not often get the recognition they deserve.” Chinn named Delenn Mobley as the 2017 unsung hero.
The Quigg Newton awards, a senior boy and girl, chosen by staff, went to Meghan Smith and Kasey Rosendahl.
Chinn announced that Casey Turner has been named a “commended student” for the 2017 National Merit Scholarship Program–among some 34,000 such students nationwide recognized for exceptional academic promise. This top five percent of the more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition did so by taking the 2015 preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying test (the PSAT). Chinn presented Turner with a letter of commendation from the program.
A faculty dependability award is also given by staff to a senior boy or girl based on good attendance, punctuality, honesty, cooperation, and sincere responsibility, willingness and initiative. The 2017 award was given to Maggie Phelan.
In closing, Chinn also named all the honor roll students in the three categories of honor (3.0 to 3.49 cumulative grade point average), high honor (3.5 to 3.79 GPA), and highest honor (3.8 to 4.0 GPA). The Herald Times will post the names at www.theheraldtimes.com.
Editor’s note: Art awards and athletic awards will be included in next week’s paper.
Honors are for cumulative GPAs 3.0 to 3.49
High Honors are for cumulative GPAs 3.5 to 3.79
Highest Honors are for cumulative GPAs 3.8 to 4.0
