MVHS Scholars Recognized At Awards Night

Last week Moapa Valley High School held its annual Awards Night. All MVHS seniors and their parents are invited to the ceremony where most of the local scholarship awards are presented.

This year the 2008-09 Student Body President Olivia Dominguez, who was elected just weeks ago, opened the ceremony. She was followed by Principal Grant Hanevold who welcomed the distinguished guests and contributors on the stage. Scholarship Counselor Stephanie Howard then introduced the first scholarship.

Charlie Cooper, teacher and Student Council Adviser, then presented awards to the seniors who were part of Student Council this year. He gave special recognition to the Student Body President Nick DeLaFrance for his hard work and support in behalf of all the school programs.

The next several awards were presented to great student athletes. Matt Messer, athletic director presented Athletes of the Year Scholarships to Blythe Thompson and Bobby Vallet. He also recognized Joseph Rebman, Kaytie Cook, Cori Cook, Kasi Delgadillo and Blythe Thompson for playing three sports for four years.

Messer also presented two athletic scholarships. The Lloyd J. Draayer award was given to Blythe Thompson, and the Realizing the Dream Scholarship was awarded to both Blythe Thompson and Bobby Vallet. Michael Vanozzi, a representative from Senator Harry Reid’s office took the stage next to present awards to the 2008 Valedictorians and Salutatorian. These awards were given to Valedictorians Kaytie Cook, Rachel Lui, Kylea McMurray, Patricia Qualheim, Jaime Turner, Betty Sendlein, Bobby Vallet and Salutatorian Amelia DeMille.

Chris Hastings was the next honoree. He was awarded the U.S. Navy Montgomery GI Bill Scholarship by Officer Crystal Rogers, who said that she, “…would be glad to serve next to Chris Hastings, he’s a great young man.”

Major Todd Wilde of the U.S. Air Force awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships offered by the U.S. Military. David Gourdin earned the ROTC Scholarship, which will provide for the majority of his college education.

Glen Hardy of the Clark County Farm Bureau then presented $1,000 scholarships to Stephanie Dalley, Holly Garlick, Cynthia Taylor and Jennifer Jack.

The McDonald’s corporation awarded a scholarship to both Houston and Simone Costa, a talented and diverse set of twins.

Dave and Candy Cook were next with their relatively new scholarship. They have awarded this scholarship for the past two years, and this year selected Cynthia Taylor as the recipient.

Darin Leach of Lin’s Marketplace was proud to award the Lin’s Scholarship to two dedicated members of the Lin’s team, Kyra Hatten and Jennifer Neil.

The Moapa Valley Art Guild awarded the next scholarships to three aspiring artists, Jaime Turner, Kayliana Brown and Jessica Brandon. Floice Lund said that the three students would be able to continue applying for the scholarship throughout their college education.

Drama teacher Sidney Bounds then presented awards to the best senior actors at MVHS, Jennifer Neil and Cameron Kirwin. Bounds said that there were no questions as to who the two leads should be in this year’s production of Our Town, and that these two talented individuals represented the best of the theater program.

The MVHS Booster Club was the next to present awards. They presented $500 each to Kaytie Cook, Cori Cook, Melissa Cope, Jennifer Jack, Steven Jensen, Brady Leavitt, Kylea McMurray, Joseph Rebman, Betty Sendlein and Bobby Vallet.

The newly elected officers of National Honor Society (NHS) were proud to award the Honor Society award, the Nicole May Scholarship to former NHS President Holly Garlick.

The Moapa Valley Federal Credit Union awarded scholarships to Rachel Lui, Brandon Clifford and Amelia DeMille. The Overton Power District recognized Kirk Bullock, Lyndsay Frehner, David Gourdin and Patricia Qualheim. Valley-Leavitt Insurance awarded Brady Leavitt, Joseph Rebman and Cynthia Taylor. The Moapa Valley Rotary Club awarded Cori Cook, Rachel Lui and Kylea McMurray. Stephanie Dalley earned the Darrell and Arlene Waite Family Scholarship. Cynthia Taylor earned both the Western States and the MVHS High School Rodeo scholarships. Cal and Tonya Payne awarded a scholarship to Simone Costa. Jennifer Neil was awarded a scholarship from Nevada Telecommunications.

One of the new scholarships was presented by Jay and Rhonda Hills. They awarded a Performing Arts scholarship to Jamie Turner for her outstanding viola performances at the Falcon Ridge Showroom.

The last donor of the evening was Scott Carson of Tiffany’s Subs. He awarded a vocational scholarship to Marissa Paul for her goals in the childcare industry. He then awarded $2,000 to several young ladies who work in his sub shop. Barbara Becker, Amelia DeMille, Holly Garlick, Jaime Turner, and Betty Sendlein each received awards. Carson also donated $2,000 to the MVHS Foods program for its oustanding work.

The last awards were presented by Principal Grant Hanevold. He again recognized each of the Valedictorians and encouraged them to get their speeches ready for the 2008 graduation ceremony to be held on Wednesday, June 4th.

Many students were then awarded various scholarships and awards from outside donors. Many students from MVHS qualified for the Millenium Scholarship and many graduated with Advanced and Honors Diplomas. Scholarship Counselor Stephanie Howard said, “This is an outstanding class, and they have earned a lot of awards,” said Scholarship Counselor Stephanie Howard. “Congratulations to the class of 2008.”