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Meadowlawn achiever gets a boost from her neighbors
By ANDREW MEACHAM ST. PETERSBURG -- Jamie Toon puts in five days a week at the gym, minimum, and hopes she's doing enough. While on the floor at Lifestyles knocking out 300 crunches a day, she keeps her eye on the TV: "It takes my mind off the pain," she said. Toon, 18, will go to college in a month and try out for volleyball. The crunches and the gym routines were ordered by the Florida Institute of Technology volleyball coach, whom she supplies with updates by e-mail on a near-daily basis. Though she played for a Northeast High School team that won a district title this year, volleyball is just a sidelight to her mission: to study engineering. She will have some help in that regard, thanks to a $1,000 scholarship from her Meadowlawn neighbors. Toon won the award from a pool of seven candidates from among the neighborhood's 2,000 homes. She shares the house on Orchard Drive with her parents, David and Valarie Toon, and brother, Troy, 13. Bill Goff, who chaired the selection committee, said he was impressed by Toon's community service as a volunteer for recreation programs at Fossil Park, and her beach cleanup work at the Oceanographic Camp for Girls. The grades didn't look too shabby, either. "Good Lord, she was in every honors program under the sun," Goff said. Pinellas County Education Foundation will administer the grant, which is the third of its kind funded by Meadowlawn Neighborhood Association. The scholarship targets recent high-school graduates. The day she got the news, Toon said she needed the lift. "I'd had a bad day," she said. "I came home and checked the mail, and I was like, "Yeah!"' A member of National Honor Society and its math equivalent, Mu Alpha Theta, Toon said her favorite subject at Northeast was physics. She credits teacher Brian Goldych. "He was just so excited about teaching. He really concentrated on us grasping everything we could. If we didn't understand, he would show us until we finally understood." Toon chose FIT in Melbourne over the University of South Florida in part because the program there allows an earlier start into engineering courses. The smaller size was also a factor. "I don't know if I could be in a school that has its own trolley," she said of USF. She'll take along her notes from calculus and physics. Despite getting kidded for her note cards in physics class, Toon described herself as "very disorganized." However, she added, "I can find everything in my room just fine, even if it looks messy." Her father, an avid sports fan, thinks she should leave behind a football in a plastic case, autographed by Tampa Bay Buccaneer John Lynch. The award, given by the team, recognizes academics, athletics, and community service. State Rep. Frank Farkas, R-St. Petersburg, and Sen. Jim Sebesta, R-St. Petersburg, as well as City Council member John Bryan are expected to attend the formal presentation of Toon's award, 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Bethel Lutheran Church, 1801 62nd Ave. N. "That scares me," Toon said of the delegation. "I don't like being in the limelight. I'd rather be the person behind the scenes." Central Oak Park celebrates a new viewCentral Oak Park celebrates on Tuesday the overlook deck that it built with the help of a Neighborhood Partnership grant and a donation from Home Depot. The festivities start at 6 p.m. behind the Main Library, 3745 Ninth Avenue N. The observation deck is at 37th Street N and 11th Avenue N. The association will supply hamburgers, hot dogs and drinks. Bring a side dish or dessert, and a folding chair or blanket. President Brian Longstreth said the association will apply for more grants to pay for benches on the observation deck and around Lake Jorgenson. The association is also holding a yard sale next weekend. All residents are encouraged to participate. Central Oak Park's boundaries extend from 13th Avenue N to Fifth Avenue S, between 34th and 49th streets.
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From the Times South Pinellas desks Letters |
