Seapower - August 2009

Atlanta Metropolitan Council
Presents Annual Youth Awards

By PETER ATKINSON, Deputy Editor

The Atlanta Metropolitan Coun- cil held its 16th Annual Youth Awards Banquet May 8 at the Holiday Inn Select in Atlanta. Frank Campbell, the council’s vice president of Youth Services, coordinated the dinner and was master of ceremonies.

Retired Navy Capt. Steven C. Christopher, director of military programs with council community affiliate Phoenix Air Group Inc., was the banquet speaker. He encouraged the Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) and U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) cadets in attendance to work hard, set realistic goals and take responsibility for their actions, according to Larry Hamilton, the council’s vice president of public affairs.

Cadet Lt. Eliud Martinez, of the East Hall High School JROTC program, was the recipient of the 2009 JROTC Award. Martinez was selected from 40 nominees.

The council also selected NSCC Cadet Seaman Apprentice James E. Brown for the Ninth Annual Sea Cadet Award. Brown, a student at East Coweta High School, is a member of the NSCC Pathfinder Excursion Squadron. Martinez and Brown each received a $500 U.S. Savings Bond.

Cadet Lt. Col. Allison Faye Gordy, a student East Coweta High School, received a $250 U.S. Savings Bond for second place in the JROTC competition. Four other cadets each received a $100 Bond as honorable mentions: Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Christiana Ponder, Southwest DeKalb High School; Cadet Lt. Cmdr. David J. Bonham, North Cobb High School; Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Vandermeyden, Kennesaw Mountain High School;

From the left, NJROTC Outstanding Cadet Lt. Eliud Martinez stands with the runner-up, Cadet Lt. Col. Allison Faye Gordy, and honorable mentions, Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Christiana Ponder, Cadet Lt. Cmdr. David J. Bonham, Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Vandermeyden and Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Yi during the Atlanta Metropolitan Council’s 16th Annual Youth Awards Banquet May 8.

and Cadet Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Yi, Cross Keys High School.

The JROTC awards were presented by Council President Steve Adams.

Adams and William T. Schwendler Jr. presented the Sea Cadet William T. Schwendler Award for Excellence to Brown. The award is named in honor of the late William T. Schwendler, an early aviation designer who made major contributions to the aerospace industry.

There was a three-way tie for runner-up for the award. Cadet Seaman Noah Faber-Jones of the 2745th Seabee Battalion, Roswell High School; Cadet Seaman Apprentice Christopher Houghton of the Pathfinder Excursion Squadron, Arnoll Middle School; and Cadet Petty Officer 2nd Class Billy Phillips of Warrior Division, Trinity Home School Depot, each

received a $150 savings bond as runner-up.

The Fifth Annual Jason E. Lawson Trophy for Outstanding Sea Cadet Unit 2009 was awarded to the Warrior Division, commanded by Lt. Rhonda “Smitty” Smith, NSCC. The award is named for Navy Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class Jason E. Lawson, who was killed in a helicopter accident in 2002. Lawson was a member of NARS B- 1 Squadron Sea Cadet Unit for three years and the 1999 National Navy League Sea Cadet of the Year.

The Atlanta area boasts 40 high schools with Navy and Marine Corps JROTC units and eight Sea Cadet units, all of which were eligible for the Atlanta Metropolitan Council’s Youth Awards program. The council has a separate program for the two Navy ROTC units at Georgia Tech University and Morehouse College.