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Hometown Pasco

What's happening

By Times Staff Writer
Published May 29, 2005

HIGH FIVES

The small art gallery was filled to near capacity minutes before the awards ceremony was to begin. The smell of fresh made cotton candy wafted through the room and middle school students, with their parents and family members, headed for cookies and punch waiting on a side counter. A wall to the left of the entrance displayed all the entries for the middle school art contest sponsored by Alexandria Art Gallery.

Genia Ward, co-owner, urged the students to come forward to begin the presentation of awards. The crowd had grown to more than 50 people, mostly proud parents with cameras ready to click.

Ward gave a brief background on the art contest and thanked the four middle schools that sent entries, especially so near the end of the school year. "The art teachers were phenomenal," she said.

"Next year, we will do this earlier in the year," said Ward, indicating that she intends to make the contest an annual event.

It came time to announce winners, and Ward said she had to "move fast" with the presentations because many students had other activities, such as concerts and sports events, they would be attending later that evening. As winners were announced, they were presented with certificates, a tote bag from the St. Petersburg Times, a sponsor of the event, and a bag of the cotton candy that Ward cleverly coordinated with colors the students were wearing. The candy, however, came with instructions that Ward good-naturedly repeated several times, "You may not eat the candy is this store!"

Before announcing the winners, Ward said, "The voting was extremely close. The Best of Show Award was decided by two votes."

Best of Show, the top prize in the contest, went to Ashley Hash, a seventh grader from Pine View Middle School. Her work was titled Fairies.

First place wins went to Cory Zaiser, Pine View Middle School, sixth grade; Emily Daniels, Pine View Middle School, seventh grade; and Alejandro Clasing, Academy at the Lakes, eighth grade.

Taking home second place wins were Taylor Arbet, Academy at the Lakes, sixth grade; Shirley Leung, Academy at the Lakes, seventh grade; and Katie Green, Pine View Middle School, eighth grade.

Capturing third place wins were Chris Trenchik, Pine View Middle, sixth grade; Erin Clanahan, St. Anthony's Catholic School, eighth grade; and Amanda Butler, Pine View Middle School, eighth grade.

All entries were selected at the school level in preliminary competition. Art teachers who participated in this phase of selection were Donna Ramos from Academy at the Lakes; Lynda McLaughlin and Sandy Matsucky from Pine View Middle School; Linda Whitman from St. Anthony's; and Denise Zimmer from Stewart Middle School.

Other entries in the contest included Academy at the Lakes - R.J. Stowers and Lauren Morgan, sixth grade; Akanksha Chavan and Eric Butler, sixth grade; and Hanna Bernard, eighth grade.

Pine View Middle School also sent work by Taylor Moore, sixth grade; John Esterline, seventh grade; and Emily Stephenson, eighth grade.

St. Anthony's entries included Beth Barthle, Lorna McCallister an d James Brewes, sixth grade; Kathryn Pitton, seventh grade; Ashley Scharber, Kathleen White and Lindsey Dious, eighth grade.

Also honored at the reception was Michelle Kiefer, a junior from Hernando High School. Kiefer was the recent first place winner in the District 5 Congressional Art Contest sponsored b y U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite. Kiefer's painting, titled Pigs, was on display in framing done by Alexandria's Art Gallery as part of the first place prize.

Kiefer will travel to Washington, D.C., for a June 14 ribbon cutting ceremony where her winning piece will be hung in the hallway between the Cannon House Office Building and the United States Capitol for the next year. Michelle is the daughter of Joy and Mark Kiefer of Brooksville.

As the award ceremony ended Ward thanked the event sponsors, including Saralee Squires who represented the St. Petersburg Times; Tiffanie Kellog, from Thread Art, who gave each contestant a canvas tote bag with the names of all the sponsors on it; Wesley Chapel Toyota; Creative Color ; PostNet ; Country Gardens ; AOE Supplies and Nelson's Pest Control.

"The contest was truly a community effort," Ward said.

For information about the contest or the gallery, call Genia or Bill Ward, owners of Alexandria Art Gallery at (813) 948-4447. The gallery is located at 2149 Collier Parkway in Land O'Lakes.

Twenty-two schools in central and east Pasco County received the 2004-2005 Florida Department of Education's Golden School Award. The awards are given to schools that have exemplary programs that promote parent and community involvement in education. Schools in east and central Pasco receiving this award were Centennial Elementary, Centennial Middle, Chester W. Taylor Elementary, Denham Oaks Elementary, Lacoochee Elementary, Lake Myrtle Elementary, Land O'Lakes High, Pasco Elementary, Pasco High, Pasco Middle, Pine View Elementary, Pine View Middle, Quail Hollow Elementary, San Antonio Elementary, Sand Pine Elementary, Sanders Memorial Elementary, Thomas E. Weightman Middle, Wesley Chapel Elementary, West Zephyrhills Elementary, Woodland Elementary an d Zephyrhills High schools.

The Golden School Award is presented to recognize elementary, secondary and adult schools that meet the following criteria:

A minimum of 80% of the school staff participated in training related to school volunteerism.

A school volunteer coordinator is designated for recruitment, placement, training and supervision

The total number of hours in volunteer service equals twice the number of students enrolled in the school. Any volunteer activity that contributes to student improvement may be counted.

For additional information about the awards, contact Richard Tauber, supervisor of volunteer programs, at (813) 794-2207 or (352) 524-2207.

Center Academy, 1520 Land O'Lakes Blvd., Lutz, recently announced the nine seniors of the graduating class of 2005: Ryan Thomas Wilton Bunting, Caroline Marie Dillon, Jennifer Lorraine Epstein, Jonathan L. Fernandez, Dylan Jonathan Hall, Gary Alexander Martin, Michael Scott Seal, Erica Michelle Taylor an d Charles Gable Yerrid.

For information about Center Academy, call 813 909-9442 or e-mail infolz@centeracademy.com

She's beauty and she's grace, she's the greatest mom in the United States," wrote Dakota Rios, a student at Centennial Middle School in Zephyrhills. Dakota explained that her mother, Astrid Olsen Rios, is always helping others and works long hours at her job to help provide for her family. She also volunteers and donates money to worthy causes.

Dakota's essay about her mother earned first prize in Kiefer Village Jewels fifth annual Mother's Day essay contest. An award's ceremony was held at the Dade City Kiefer Village Jewels on May 7. Prizes for the winners included sterling silver and diamond pendants, earrings, and bracelets from the jewelry store's Hot Diamonds collection.

Second place went to Kristin Armstrong from Weightman Middle School in Wesley Chapel. Kristin began her essay by saying, "You may not know this but the word "diamond" comes from the Greek word "adamos" which means "unconquerable." That is exactly like my mother's love for me because she is always there for me, and she helps my three siblings, too." Armstrong used strong descriptive phrases to create a picture of her mother, Rebecca Armstrong, saying "I sometimes think she can read my mind, and I wonder if she has eyes in the back of her head. I wish I knew as much about her as she knows of me."

Winning words that concluded Kristin's essay about her mother were, "She is absolutely everything I could wish for."

Kristin later said that the day she learned her essay was a winning entry was the best day of her life. Earlier in the day she had seen baby brother, Jack, born. Then she had performed twice in a school play and later learned she had placed second in the essay contest.

Third place went to Meghan Anderson, a student at Pasco Middle School, who described her mother saying, "Sometimes she lets us make decisions on our own, and because she trusts us to make excellent choices."

Meghan continued the description of why her mother is special saying, "She gives us confidence so we can do things. We do well in school work and with our music because of her."

More than 150 students from Dade City, Zephyrhills, Wesley Chapel and Land O'Lakes participated in the contest, sponsored by the jewelry store with locations at 37850 Meridian Avenue in Dade City and in the Willow Bend Towne Centre at 23022 State Road 54 in Land O'Lakes. For information, call 352 567-2378 or (813) 909-2392 or visit www.kvjewels.com

The Saint Leo University Athletics Department recently presented student athlete awards for 2005 at an Athletic Awards Dinner sponsored by Outback Steakhouse and the Tampa Tribune.

The department introduced three new student-athlete awards given to athletes on every Saint Leo sport team: cross country, women's soccer, men's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, women's tennis, baseball and softball.

The "Community Award" is given to student athletes who exemplify great teamwork and respect for fellow players, coaches, support staff and officials, and embody class and integrity, while encouraging others to do the same. Recipients of this award must be not only great team members but also supporters of other athletes and programs.

The new "Personal Development Award" is given to the student athlete who made the greatest strides in the past year or since the start of the academic year. The transition could be in leadership, teamwork, technique, attitude, tactics, physical or academics. The recipient is a person who strives to get better each day by positively responding to teammates, coaches and staff members.

The new "Excellence Award" is given to the student athlete who demonstrates the character, skills and knowledge to compete at a high level, while also encouraging others to do the same. The person receiving this award also must represent the institution in a morally responsible way in all they do.

Award winners this year were:

Men's and women's cross country - Tony Dirth and Ashley Tyler, Community Award; Tim Trevino and Mary Stevens, Personal Development Award; and Travis Robbins and Sophia Lindorsson, Excellence Award.

Men's and Women's Soccer - Maria DeMaio and Brent Stanze, Community Award; Jane Seedhouse and Luis Quintero, Personal Development Award; and Sophia Lindorsson and Giancarlo Conte, Excellence Award.

Volleyball - Morgan Mander, Community Award; Elizabeth Moore, Personal Development Award; and Nikki Prack, Excellence Award.

Men's and women's basketball - Jamie Turner and Danielle Hoeffner, Community Award; Jackie Lamons and Andrea Balurate, Personal Development Award; and Naranda Caldwell and Jenna Drouin, Excellence Award.

Men's and women's golf - John Semeraro and Carrie Leitch, Community Award; Ben Shulman and Eve Ponte, Personal Development Award; and John Semeraro and Marlene Pogue, Excellence Award.

Men's and women's tennis - Mohamad Elnaamani and Lorielle Ferlita, Community Award; Ali Elnaamani and Nikki Prack, Personal Development Award; and Adrian Nakayama and Iskra Nikolovska, Excellence Award. Baseball - Danny Prevatt, Community Award; Matt Prowant, Personal Development Award; and Sean VanGuilder, Excellence Award.

Softball - Heather Stroud, Community Award; Erin Brunt, Personal Development Award; and Katie Heintz, Excellence Award.

Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Awards included Sean Reaves, Fan of the Year; Men's and Women's Cross Country teams, Inspirational Teams of the Year; Mike Madagan, coach of men's basketball, Coach of the Year. The Athletic Department Awards included Heather Gamlin, Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Ben Shulman, Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year; Katie Heintz, Female Athlete of the Year; an d Marquis McCullough, Male Athlete of the Year. Carol Lumbra won the Patrick J. Mongue Award.

[Last modified May 29, 2005, 01:18:36]