Students of the Month
OUR YOUTH OF THE MONTH AWARD recognizes hard-working pre-high school and high school students who attain high levels of scholastic achievement, community involvement and leadership, and daily demonstrate good citizenship both at school and at home. Students recognized for the month of November were Isabella Bok from Sebastian River Middle School, Brandon Marrero from Storm Grove Middle School and Jasmine Ramos and Jorge Sanchez from Sebastian River High School.
Isabella Bok, Jorge Sanchez, Jasmine Ramos and Student Coordinator Adam Preuss
Isabella Bok is an example to her classmates as she is consistently a dependable, hard-working, motivated student. She has a big heart and an open mind and will make an incredible difference in this world. She is a brilliant team player, sharing ideas equally with peers and shows leadership qualities of being supportive to them. “Izzy” is becoming an accomplished young musician and is in the Wind Ensemble advanced band. In accepting her award and thanking our club she said, “I am so thankful to Sebastian River Middle School staff and that I can call myself a student at Sebastian River Middle School.”
Brandon Marrero is a phenomenal student who demonstrates maturity, respectfulness, and insight. He is respected and well-liked by his teachers as well as his peers. Brandon is not only a hard worker who consistently strives to achieve his best, but he is always the first one to assist students who might need help with homework or perhaps a computer issue. Brandon embodies all of those traits we wish to instill in our students—kindness, compassion for others, a strong work ethic and pride in one’s family and culture. He is the student who will notice a classmate who is shy and reluctant to join in with groups and he will invite them to work with him. Brandon Marrero is the model of Stingray Pride and we are fortunate to have him as one of our students. He loves playing baseball and wants to try out for the Storm Grove team. He plans on attending Sebastian River High School and is unsure of his future after graduation.
Jasmine Ramos is an IB Diploma candidate with a weighted GPA of 4.536 and Class Rank of 11th. She is President of the National Honor Society, Chief Editor of the Yearbook, a member of the Student Council and Future Business Leaders of America and an AP Scholar. Jasmine volunteers at her church teaching catechism and various ministries. She is bilingual and loves photography.
She says Covid19 has made things difficult, but she is thankful to keep her grades up. She has learned life lessons from her parents and teachers and says IB helps her and others to grow. In accepting her award Jasmine said, “I am thankful for this opportunity and the recognition.”
Jorge Sanchez is also an IB Diploma candidate with a weighted GPA of 4.41 and Class Rank of 22nd. He is bilingual and a member of the National Honor Society. Jorge participates in the Teens Listen Program, in which he interviews local residents and collects history. He Volunteers at his church and is an avid fisherman. Upon graduation he hopes to attend, FIT, UF, or FSU and study aeronautical engineering or economics and finance. In accepting his award Jorge thanked our club and said, “Thank you to all who made this possible.”
Welcome New Members
On November 18th we installed our newest member, Michelle Morris. For those who do not know Michelle, she recently retired as the Police Chief of the Sebastian Police Department.
We are so glad to have Michelle on board! Please make an effort to introduce yourselves and welcome her to our club.
December Birthdays
12/01 Susan Baran
12/20 Paul Reeves
December Anniversaries
Debbie Fitzpatrick 4 Years
Ali Qizilbash 10 Years
This and That
Ali asked members to contact Jeff Kagan with ideas for future speakers. A second person working with Jeff would be helpful.
Terry Gardner is chairing the Community Involvement Committee. Karen McElveen will serve with her. They encourage members to give ideas for activities.
Lyse McDonough and Debbie Fitzpatrick are also asking for ideas for their Hospitality Committee to consider.
Eva Chapman held the 1st BWO meeting. A sponsor packet is now available and will be sent out via email soon. Please contact sponsors early to get them on board for June 4, 2021!
Eva Chapman needs to know of any volunteer work a member has done outside of Exchange Club. This counts toward credit we get from national toward year end awards. Please use her log or send her the name of the organization and number of hours you spent volunteering.
Paul Williamson reports that we are 43-member strong. Please contact members to let them know meetings can be attended via ZOOM if not in person. Also, bring guests and ask them to join the best club ever!
Kathy Burns and Karen McElveen are heading up the holiday gifts project for Guardians for New Future children. This year our club will sponsor 18 children with 3 wishes each. Kathy will also accept cash and do the shopping for you! The toys need to be delivered by December 7th, so if you have not already please turn in your gifts to them. Karen and Kathy say, “Thank you for considering sponsoring a child this holiday season. Your generosity will have a positive impact on the lives of the children. You may never know the true impact of your gift, but please know that in many cases this may be the first gift a child has received or simply a gift without strings attached.”
Excel Club of Sebastian River High School
Front Row: 2019-2020 Club Officers with Club Builders Terry Gardner, Kathy Burns & Margie Duffell
Our meeting was held on Tuesday November 16th. The New officers were installed. Congratulations to the 2020-21 Officers:
President = Sarah Cosner
Secretary = Maddie Tatro
Treasurer = Angela Zamarripa
Members worked on making holiday cards/letters for veterans to be delivered with holiday packages (Pillar – Americanism). President Sarah Cosner announced that she will be contacting Salvation Army to see what volunteer opportunities are available over the winter break. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday December 9th. Any club member wishing to participate may attend in person or join via Zoom Meeting. Contact Margie Duffell for connection instructions.
2019-2020 SCHJS Jr Excel Officers with other club members
Meetings and elections of new officers will resume after the winter break when the 2nd semester begins.
As this new school year unfolds, we look forward to hearing of both clubs’ growth and achievements.
Sebastian Police News
The Sebastian Police Department held its Turkey Drive with great success. . . so much food was collected they had to stop after 2 hours. Collections of about 70 turkeys plus $700 cash donations will feed 80 families in need. Jason said thank you for the assistance from WalMart and Saint Sebastian Church. The Sebastian Police Department is “very proud of the residents of Sebastian” who stepped out to help other community members.
The next event will be a drive for Toys for Tots on December 4th at 10:00 a.m. at Sebastian Walmart.
The Sebastian Police Department will be defending their title as Grand Champions at Oceans Unite’s 3rd Annual 1st Responders Lip Sync Battle on December 17th at 7pm. Come out to the Indian River and support the police department. Go to the SPD facebook page to view this hilarious video!
Officers Gillette and Singh
Calendar of Events
All meetings will be offered in person at Captain Hiram’s or via ZOOM unless stated otherwise. ZOOM connection information will be sent out weekly.
December
12/03 – Freedom Shrine Dedication 10:00 a.m. at Youth Guidance, Vero Beach
12/09 – Jim Miskel, Professor at IRSC on National Security Council
Birthday Cake
12/16 – Students
12/23 – Holiday Gift Swap
12/30 – No Meeting (Happy New Year)
January
01/06 – No Meeting (Board Only)
01/13 – Chris Robertson – Hope Lives Foundation
01/20 – Students
01/27 – TBD
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY |
This Quarter’s Visitors – Please Come Again!
10-14-20 – Michelle Morris (Several – she made application for membership!)
10-14-20 – Janet Kennedy (Ali) Real Estate
10-14-20 – John McIntosh and Adrian Garcia (Ali)
10-28-20 – Tom McDonough (Lyse)
11-18-20 – Sean Facey (Lyse)
11-18-20 – Rachel Cannon (Michelle Morris – she made application for membership!)
District Director Rene’s Corner
Sebastian Club: Rene reports the scholarship recipients of the Sebastian Exchange Club Scholarship Foundation for 2020 are:
Leticia Ovalle $2,000
Alexander Ortiz Velez $2,000
Madison Hula $2,000
Sofia Carmona $2,000
Alyssa Sturgeon $1,000
(H.R. “Rappy” Perez Scholarship)
Adam Preuss Student Chairman has announced the following recipients:
Youth of the Year:
Alexander Ortiz Velez $1000
Alyssa Sturgeon $1000
ACE:
Rian Butler $1000
DISTRICT ACE:
Rian Butler $2500
Margie Duffell