State of Vermont
House of Representatives
Montpelier, Vermont
House Resolution
www.leg.state.vt.us
H.R. 61
House resolution congratulating the 2002 Vermont student winners of the Prudential Spirit of Community Award
Offered by: Representatives Miller of Shaftsbury, Bohi of Hartford, Kainen of Hartford and Nitka of Ludlow and Young of Orwell
Whereas, in contemporary society, voluntary community service is not always a youthful pursuit, and
Whereas, those young persons who have demonstrated the initiative and ingenuity to establish creative and beneficial volunteer community service projects merit special recognition, and
Whereas, the National Association of Secondary School Principals and Prudential Financial annually select outstanding secondary school students in every state as recipients of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, and
Whereas, nationally, the top 104 award winners, known as state honorees, are a showcase of outstanding student volunteers, and
Whereas, state honorees are awarded a $1,000.00 prize, an engraved silver medallion, and a trip to Washington, D.C., where they compete for national honoree recognition, and
Whereas, Christina Mellinger of Shaftsbury, a senior at Mt. Anthony Union High School in Bennington, and Lynn Williams, an eighth-grader at Black River Union School in Ludlow, were the two Vermonters selected as state honorees, and
Whereas, Christina serves as co-president in the Rotary Interact Mentoring Service which was established by the Rotary Interact Club Chapter of Mt. Anthony Union High School and another local Interact chapter, upon winning a $25,000.00 Rotary International grant for this purpose, and
Whereas, the mentoring program’s goal is to provide a positive role model for at-risk elementary schoolchildren, while the importance of responsibility, patience and compassion is reinforced for the mentors, and
Whereas, Christina has personally recruited and trained student mentors, arranged mentoring relationships, worked closely with elementary teachers, and worked personally as a mentor with an eight-year-old child, and
Whereas, Lynn Williams is an extraordinary eighth-grade volunteer who has donated her time at two important community institutions, the Black River Academy Museum and the Rutland Regional Medical Center, and
Whereas, at the museum Lynn organized files and performed other small tasks, freeing the staff to concentrate on larger projects, and
Whereas, her duties at the hospital included transporting patients to different hospital departments and assisting in the discharge process, and
Whereas, in both places, Lynn’s volunteer services were of great assistance to the staff, and
Whereas, Kiley Briggs of Shoreham, a sophomore at Middlebury Union High School, and Rachael Ladd of Wilder, a junior at Hartford High School in White River Junction, were designated as Distinguished Finalists in the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards competition and will each receive an engraved bronze medallion, and
Whereas, Kiley assisted Audubon Society researchers during a 15-day field study to document the reptiles and amphibians of Vermont, and
Whereas, Rachael organized the collection and distribution of more than 400 hygiene packets for underprivileged schoolchildren in the African nation of Ghana, and
Whereas, each of these outstanding young Vermonters is worthy of special commendation for voluntarily serving their community in a variety of ways, now therefore be it
Resolved by House of Representatives:
That the House of Representatives proudly congratulates Christina Mellinger, Lynn Williams, Kiley Briggs and Rachael Ladd as the 2002 Prudential Spirit of Community Award winners in Vermont, and be it further
Resolved: That the Assistant Clerk of the House be directed to send a copy of this resolution to each of the award recipients’ respective schools and directly to each recipient.
______Attested to:
Speaker of the House
______
James A. Palmisano
First Assistant Clerk
House of Representatives
www.leg.state.vt.us