SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Four Baldwin County students distinguished themselves from already enviable company Monday during the 11th annual Superintendents’ Red Ribbon Awards gala at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
Spanish Fort High …
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SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Four Baldwin County students distinguished themselves from already enviable company Monday during the 11th annual Superintendents’ Red Ribbon Awards gala at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
Spanish Fort High School’s Mackenzie Davidson took home one of only three $1,000 scholarships honoring students whose service projects have made the greatest impact on their school and community. Eight seniors across both Baldwin and Mobile counties earned $6,000 in scholarships.
Davidson hosted a communitywide recycling day in early December in which she asked local residents to drop off recyclable items at Spanish Fort Ball Park. The $4,041 the event raised was given back, she said, to the four schools in the Spanish Fort feeder pattern.
Meanwhile, North Baldwin Center for Technology’s Kayla Womack received a $750 scholarship for the butterfly garden she constructed as an outdoor classroom for elementary- and middle-school students; Gulf Shores High School’s Kaitlin Alexander earned a $500 scholarship for organizing a Red Ribbon carnival encouraging more than 1,000 of the feeder pattern’s students to say “no” to drugs; and Silverhill Elementary School’s Michael Zona received a $100 gift card for conducting Baldwin County’s outstanding K-8 community service project.
The program, sponsored by the Drug Education Council Inc., recognized student leaders from 130 public, private and parochial schools across both counties.
With a theme of “All Green Together,” students were honored for their efforts to organize and lead substance-abuse prevention and related community service activities throughout the fall. The 2011 theme encouraged students to focus on oil spill-related environmental and economic recovery projects.
“We’ve watched with pride and anticipation over the past few months as influential elected, business and grassroots leaders have come together to shape a shared vision for southwest Alabama; we hope the 2010-11 Red Ribbon Leadership program has helped to plant a seed among the youth of our community about the importance of nurturing a long-term, regional commitment to collaboration and unity,” Virginia Guy, the council’s executive director, told honorees during the private ceremony.
“Students, the role you’ve assumed as a result of this experience is an important one; one we encourage you to sustain as you mature and take your place in the world. Because one of the lessons we know best from living on the coast is that we must always be prepared and willing to work together in order to bounce back from a crisis. The best way you can help is to continue making positive choices, complete your education, pursue the career in which you are uniquely equipped to succeed and return to our community to fulfill your potential for lifetime leadership and service. We look forward to the long-term contribution you will make as we continue working together for good across our coastal community,” Guy said.
Although the sponsoring Drug Education Council Inc. is based in Mobile, the agency serves seven counties in southwest Alabama. The council created the Superintendents’ Red Ribbon Leadership Awards program in 2000 not only to recognize excellence on both sides of the bay but as a way to “promote positive character and community service.”
Denise D’Oliveira, executive director of Supporting Educational Enrichment in Daphne’s Schools and the gala’s coordinator, said more the program has honored more than 1,500 students from across the area since 2000, while the scholarship program has awarded area students $30,000 since 2005.
The green theme gave participating students unique opportunities to have an impact on their communities, and D’Oliveira said she was inspired by their “unbelievably creative” perspectives.
“The Baldwin County kids were just so creative, and I think these are the most substantive projects we’ve had since the program was formed,” she said. “More importantly, I think they all come away from this understanding we can all be more effective partnered with one another.”
Superintendents Alan Lee of Baldwin County, Roy Nichols of Mobile County, Gwen Byrd of the Mobile Catholic Archdiocese and Wayne Vickers of Saraland City Schools recognized the honorees, including Red Ribbon Scholarship winners, during the Olympic-style awards ceremony.
The council delivers in-school and community-based drug-education programs as well as counseling and referral services throughout the year. For more information, call 251-478-7855.
The 2011 Red Ribbon Leadership Award winners are as follows:
r Baldwin County Schools (public)
Baldwin County High School: Daniel Holley
Bay Minette Elementary School: Demi Hester
Bay Minette Intermediate School: Destiny Miskel
Bay Minette Middle School: Kayla Waite
W. J. Carroll Intermediate School: Callie Macaluso
Central Baldwin Middle School: Kaitlyn Conway
Daphne Elementary School: Anna Claire Nolfe
Daphne Middle School: Brewer Ayres
Daphne High School: Dillon Nettles
Delta Elementary School: Alison Jones
Elberta Elementary School: Grant Jenson
Elberta Middle School: Caleb Bankston
Elsanor Elementary School: Danielle Floyd
Fairhope Elementary School: Micah Morgan
Fairhope Intermediate School: Sawyer Connick
Fairhope Middle School: Margaret Adams
Fairhope High School: Hannah Hill
Foley Elementary School: Sophie Switzer
Foley Intermediate School: Jorgen Bauer
Foley Middle School: Jalen Henry
Foley High School: Lindsey McNeil
Gulf Shores Elementary School: Colby Hall
Gulf Shores Middle School: Margaret Lloyd
Gulf Shores High School: Kaitlin Alexander
Loxley Elementary School: Ciera Bass-Bergeron
Magnolia School: Bay Blackwell
J. L. Newton School: Jill Johnson
N. Baldwin Center for Technology: Kayla Womack
Orange Beach Elementary School: Hunter Smyth
Perdido School: Trenton Durant
Pine Grove Elementary School: Leanne Phillips
Robertsdale Elementary School: Kenneth Harms
Robertsdale High School: Dillion Everett
Rockwell Elementary School: Emma Laurence
Rosinton Elementary School: Meredith Spears
Silverhill Elementary School: Michael Zona
South Baldwin Center for Technology: James King
Spanish Fort Elementary School: Julia Kern
Spanish Fort Middle School: Abigail Legge
Spanish Fort High School: Mackenzie Davidson
Stapleton Elementary School: Allen Henry
Summerdale Elementary School: Melissa Atchison
Swift Elementary School: Cathryn Campbell
Bayside Academy: Omar Mulla
Christ the King Catholic School: Erica Lucas
Corpus Christi School: Karen Wentworth
Little Flower Catholic School: Dalton Sharpe
Most Pure Heart of Mary School: Derricka Love
St. Benedict School: Guadalupe Meza
St. Dominic School: Emily Ramsey
St. Ignatius School: Collin Fogarty
St. Mary Catholic School: Christina Yancy
St. Patrick School: Sarah Faust
St. Paul’s Episcopal School: Abbey McNeely
St. Pius X Catholic School: David Eves
St. Vincent de Paul School: Lila Lyons
UMS-Wright Preparatory School: Anne Norris Eslava
Allentown Elementary School: Kandace Garman
Austin Elementary School: Victoria Johns
Baker High School: Jenna Medlin
Belsaw-Mt. Vernon School: Zyteria Westry
Booth Elementary School: Hali Schoultz
Brazier Elementary School: Chicorya Johnson
Breitling Elementary School: Alena Wetter
Burns Middle School: Ashley McNorton
Burroughs Elementary School: Jamir Adams
Calcedeaver Elementary School: Sydney Presley
Castlen Elementary School: Caroline Hicks
Causey Middle School: Luke Fowler
Chastang Middle School: Carltoria Wallace
Chickasaw Magnet School: Abby Pratt
Citronelle High School: Charley Powell
Clark-Shaw Magnet School: Sudduth Alexander
Collier Elementary School: Brennan Howard
Collins-Rhodes Elementary School: Jannel Ruffin
Council Traditional School: Sydney Eiland
Craighead Elementary School: Hashim Bell
Dauphin Island Elementary School: Nathan Morris
Davidson High School: Emily Donavan
Davis Elementary School: Hunter Hinton
Dawes Intermediate School: Addison Smith
Denton Middle School: Eric Beasley
Dickson Elementary School: Hart Williams
Dixon Elementary School: Dalton Gilmore
Dodge Elementary School: Jarrett Eaton
Evans School: Edmund Patton
Forest Hill Elementary School: Loushan Coleman
Gilliard Elementary School: Tatiaunia Burgett
Grand Bay Middle School: Hannah Stokes
Grant Elementary School: Chimeria Jackson
Griggs Elementary School: Mackenzie Williams
Hall Elementary School: Corinthia Hillery
Hamilton Elementary School: Alexis Brocato
Hankins Middle School: Karla Silver
Hollinger’s Island School: Autumn Toney
Holloway Elementary School: Mack Williams
Howard Elementary School: KwandrePowe
Hutchens Elementary School: Maggie Richard
Lee Primary School: Kolden Waters
Lee Intermediate School: Amaya Mabien
Leflore Preparatory School: Cierra Wilcox
Lott Middle School: Macie Bowden
Maryvale Elementary School: Tremain Simmons
McDavid-Jones Elementary School: Hunter Simison
Meadowlake Elementary School: Hailey Fryer
Mobile County Training School: Caleb Tripp
Montgomery High School: Peter Stoyka
Morningside Elementary School: Damion Dixon
Murphy High School: Gloria Sherer
North Mobile County Middle School: Kayln Cotton
Old Shell Road Magnet School: Ravyn Lang
Orchard Elementary School: Logan Evans
O’Rourke Elementary School: Baxter O’Brien
Phillips Preparatory School: Alexis Cole
Rain High School: Darius Mitchell
Robbins Elementary School: Ronnie Williams
St. Elmo Elementary School: Allyson Cornelius
Satsuma High School: Katlin Sims
Scarborough Middle School: Jalysia Brazelton
Semmes Elementary School: Morgan Pitts
Semmes Middle School: Samantha Breland
Spencer Elementary School: Santrice Rox
Turner Elementary School: Jacob Abston
Westlawn Elementary School: Jasmine Jackson
Will Elementary School: Breana McClaw
Wilmer Elementary School: Brayden Dunagan
Saraland Elementary School: Zachary Hardman
Saraland Middle School: Brandon Black
Saraland High School: Tim Wilson
