Jadon Hughes, Brandon Nevarez and Payge Anderson
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.
Brandon Nevarez was chosen as the September student of the month from Storm Grove Middle School. Students recognized for the month of October were Payge Anderson from Sebastian River Middle School, Kelsie Seeley from Storm Grove Middle School, Abigail Parrott from Sebastian Charter Junior High School, and Fizza Alikhan and Jaden Hughes from Sebastian River High School.
Payge Anderson is an excellent student and role model to her peers. She is an exceptionally hard worker that always strives to do well and is always willing to support others. Payge not only has the upmost respect for her teachers, but she is also extremely respectful of her peers within the classroom and is very diligent with her assignments. She is a natural peer tutor. If someone needs help, she is always willing to lend a helping hand. She cares about her grades and her peers. She is quiet, but great friend to her classmates, and she works hard to be successful. She comes to class with a smile and a great work ethic. Outside of the classroom she enjoys creating digital art and loves to fish. In accepting her award Payge said, “Thank you for this amazing opportunity to come out today.”
Brandon Nevarez is a very quiet, hard-working student who exemplifies the Storm Grove values of Respect, Responsibility and Role Model. He was selected as student of the month for September, is an honor roll student and participates in 1st section band. He is also a member of the jazz band and the National Junior Honor Society. He is very supportive of other students. His hobbies are running, drawing, reading and occasionally playing video games. He plans to attend SRHS and continue on to UCF. In accepting his award he thanked his parents for their help and support.
Kelsie Seeley is also a student who exemplifies Storm Grove values of Respect, Responsibility and Role Model. She is kind, considerate and caring and a peer mentor who also supports her teachers. She is a straight A Honor Roll student, a member of the National Junior Honor Society and a cheerleader. She enjoys many types of dancing , playing basketball and being with her family. She volunteers at her church and school, is creative and a caregiver to two golden retrievers She plans to attend VBHS and then continue her studies to become a physical therapist or professional dancer. In accepting her award Kelsie thanked her family for coming and for the award.
Abigayle Parrott is an exceptional student and a natural leader among her peers. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes. She is conscientious and courteous and has infinite positivity, integrity, and work ethic. She is a member of school sports and clubs and volunteers for the youth ministry of her church. She wants to study to become a veterinarian of large animals after graduating from high school. In accepting her award Abigail thanked our club and said, “I am very honored to receive this award.”
Fizza Alikhan is an IB Diploma Candidate with 4.44 weighted GPA and ranked 13th in her class. She is a student who is always prepared and ready to engage in the lesson. She’s kind, sweet, and helpful. She is well-respected by her teachers and peers. She is a National Honor Society and National Technical Honors Society Member and holds her Certified Biotechnician Assistant Credentialing. She is a member of Member of the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy, Marching Sharks and Pride of Sebastian, Member, and was Selected to represent SRHS on the Superintendents Advisory Council. She participated in Teens Listen—interviewed veterans to record their stories for posterity. She is on the Lacrosse and Weightlifting teams, and loves to spend time with family, working out, and listening to music. In accepting her Award Fizza thanked our club, her parents and said she plans to attend UF and pursue a medical career.
BIG E AWARD
On October 13th Joe Walsh, Florida District President attended our meeting to present our BIG E Award. This award is given to clubs who succeed in completing a minimum of 10 assignments in the areas of Efficiency, Expansion and Education. Our club has continued to receive this award year after year. Congratulations Past President Ali Qizilbash and to all members for your hard work and dedication in earning the Big E again this past year!
Community Involvement
On October 23rd our club was the major sponsor for the Sebastian Police Department Inaugural Unity Cup Golf Tournament which was also our National Day of Service. The Sebastian Police Department did an amazing job organizing the tournament. There were 30 foursomes entered, and despite a brief rain shower all had a fantastic time. Many thanks to Eva Chapman and Diana Best who staffed our table throughout the event!
On October 16th our members Adam Preuss and Jeff Slade attended the Veteran’s Administration Skeet Shoot. Our club was a sponsor of this event with approximately 200 people in attendance.
Community Giving
Standing: Elizabeth Thomason and Shirley Raul
Our Junior Blue Water Open was held on October 30th at Riverview Park in Sebastian. Forty-four children from Youth Guidance and Boys & Girls Clubs attended. Below are pictures of our club members and volunteers who helped to give back to the children of our community. What a great way to give visibility to our Exchange Club’s community endeavors!
Give Back to Our Community
On October 27th we presented Lane Solomon of American Security Council Foundation with a check for $1500 to be used for their Assignment Blue Clay Shoot on November 13th. This fundraiser supports ASCF’s Avatar of Ben Franklin who virtually appears with Officer Frederick who visits in the classrooms of kids in grades K-12. “Ben and Officer Frederick teach history in an engaging presentation which helps keep students attention and is more interesting than reading a book. For more information on other programs available visit www.ASCF.US.
Guest Speaker Series
On October 27th, our guest speaker was Kirk Funnel, Director of Tourism and Marketing for Visit Indian River, IR Chamber of Commerce. Kirk is a 2010 SRHS graduate who studied marketing at St. Leo University and returned to this area to “give back to Indian River County.” He has been with the IRC Chamber for 4 years. Visit Indian River annual budget is $500,000 and is fully funded by tourism tax money. It promotes hotels and restaurants and other businesses that cater to tourists. The year 2020 was difficult for tourism business, but now hotel occupancy rate is up over 2019 numbers. Visit Indian River uses programs to track people and their spending habits. Demographics have changed to include both adult as well as family entertainment . Marketing is transitioning from print to digital and video campaigns. Total tourist spending in 2021 is up. Our beaches, the arts and culture are the biggest draws along with ecotourism, fishing, and skydiving. (SkyDive Sebastian is one of 5 top jump sites and very popular with our international visitors). There are 6 countywide locations for the Treasure Coast Kids Quest including the ELC, McKee Gardens, Mel Fisher Museum and Laporte Farms. The Treasure Coast Wine & Ale Trail in November begins at Summer Crush Winery. Also in November is the Bon Fire Fest put on by the City of Vero Beach in several locations. For more information and upcoming events go to VisitIndianRiverCounty.com.
Calendar of Events
Zoom meetings have been discontinued – in person luncheons only!
November
11/03 – No Meeting (Board Only)
11/07 – Gold Star Mothers’ Walkathon for Veteran’s Suicide Prevention Awareness
11/10 – Jim Hart, President Space Coast Honor Flight Birthday Cake
11/13 – Assignment Blue Clay Shoot
11/17 – Students
11/24 – No Meeting – Happy Thanksgiving!
This and That
Please contact Ali Qizilbash or Kimball Stadler with ideas for future speakers. Suggestions are appreciated!
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.
Karen McElveen received a thank you letter from Nana’s House for our support of the Taste from Around the World event. She said pledges totaling over $100,000 were received.
Terry Gardner is chairing the Community Involvement Committee. Karen McElveen will serve with her. They encourage members to give them ideas. The next events are a food pantry drive and a toy drive for Guardians for New Futures.
Kathy Burns and Margie Duffell are working with both Sebastian Charter Junior High School and Sebastian River High School to rebuild their Excel Club programs. Club meetings are held immediately after school at each school. Volunteers to assist with these meetings are needed! For more information please contact Kathy or Margie.
Phil Barnes announced that the Youth Guidance Tropical Luau was held on Friday October 8th. Our club was a major sponsor. This year’s fundraiser was the biggest yet. Our $5,000 sponsorship will help with 1/1 and group mentoring teaching life skills and vocational training for 250 kids. Below is a picture of some of the attendees including one of the YG Kids!
November Birthdays:
11/02 Justin LeFebure
11/07 Donald Hart
11/10 Mike Natale
11/12 Rick Giteles
11/18 Adam Preuss
11/22 John Rooney
11/24 Diana Best
11/29 Lane Solomon
November Anniversaries
Michelle Morris 1 Year
Art-Kraft Sign Co. (Lori Reillly) 2 Years
EXP Realty (Susan Baron) 2 Years
Bill Kriener 12 Years
Kathy Falzone 16 Years
Jeff Slade (Charter Member) 39 Years
Rene VanDeVoorde (Charter Member) 39 Years
4th Qtr. Visitors – Please Come Again!
10/13 – Joe Walsh, Florida District President
(Rene VanDeVoorde)
10/13 – Ashleigh Dupont, Treasure Coast Tees
(Rachel Cannon)
10/13 – Dan Romance, Tax Savings Professionals
(Ali Qizilbash)
10/13 – Linas Liubinskas, Tax Savings Professionals
(Ali Qizilbash)
10/20 – Allison Zukowski, United Against Poverty
(Kimball Stadler)
10/20 – Celeste Cashatt, McLeroy Realty (Sean Facey)
10/27 – Wilford Hart, Community Liaison IRSD (Donald Hart)
10/27 – Joy Votrobek, ASCF (Lane Solomon)
Excel Club of Sebastian River High School
2021-22 Officers
Ray Temino Desiree White Sawyer Held Adam Chester Dylan Weragoda
An election of officers was held on September 13th. Approximately 25 students attended for the election!
New club officers are:
President Ray Temino
President-Elect Desiree White
Secretary Sawyer Held
Treasurer Adam Chester
Historian Dylan Weragoda
Back Row L-R: President Elect Shayne Corley, President Amber Fuller, Treasurer Teagan Keefe, and Advisor Dr. William Dodds
Front Row L-R members Marley McCain and Ethan Gates
2021-22 Club Members
Club meetings will be held on Wednesdays immediately after school at 2:00 p.m. For their first project students will participate in a school-based Annual Care Package for Soldiers. Club Advisor Jaime Sturgeon is very supportive of our efforts and is enthusiastic about having members get underway with activities which support the ideals of Exchange. Volunteers are needed to assist with these meetings.
An election officers was held on October 13th. New club officers are:
President Amber Fuller
President Elect Shane Corley
Secretary TBD
Treasurer Teagan Keefe
Meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of the month. (Due to Veteran’s Day holiday the November meeting to be held on 11/17). For their first project students will be writing letters of appreciation to veterans. Volunteers are needed to attend future meetings and assist with helping the students achieve activities which represent the four pillars of Exchange. Any member wishing to assist should contact Margie Duffell or Kathy Burns.
As this new school year begins we wish you all the best in your clubs’ accomplishments! We all look forward to the 2021-2022 year’s clubs’ growth and achievements.
District Director Rene’s Corner
Indian River Club: The 5th Annual Toss Out Child Abuse Charity Cornhole Tournament was held on October 16th at Walking Tree Brewery. This year’s event was very successful with 33 teams participating. Over $11,000 was raised! Congratulations Indian River Club for your continued successes!
Fellsmere Club: The 2021 Shrimpfest & Craft Brew Hullabaloo was held Friday, March 19th through Sunday March 21st, 2021. This was a joint effort with the Rotary Club of Sebastian and roughly $55,000 was raised support youth sports and organizations throughout north Indian River County.
South Brevard County Club: Club members have recently packed and distributed another 25 Blue Bags with children’s items for donation to the Melbourne Police. These bags are for use when police are working with children in stressful situations.
Ron Smith says the One Nation Under God Pancake Breakfast will be held on November 13, 2021. A car show is planned for the future – location and date to be determined. The Junior Fishing Tournament is planned for next spring, probably in late April. Contact Ron for more information at ronlsmith45@gmail.com.
COVID-19 Attendance Guidelines Our New Guidelines Effective August 1, 2021: These guidelines shall apply to all members and guests that attend our Club meetings in person in the Tiffany Room at Capt. Hiram’s restaurant:
- There shall be no more than 6 people at each table.
- Facemasks are optional.
- If any member/guest has tested positive for COVID-19, has experienced symptoms of COVID-19, or has been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, he/she shall not attend any meetings in person until they become symptom-free or test negative. Additionally, he/she shall notify the Club President of their condition, so that we can determine if any other members/guests may have been exposed.
Happy Halloween!!
Margie Duffell