| MVHS Seniors Recognized During Awards Night | |||
| By Rachel Brandes Moapa Valley Progress Published May 27, 2009 Moapa Valley High School seniors were presented with locally funded scholarships during the MVHS annual awards night held on Wednesday, May 20 in the Ron Dalley Theatre. Vice Principal Hal Mortensen welcomed the distinguished guests and contributors as well as the students. “I had this group of kids in middle school and watched them grow, it is an honor to see them now graduate high school,” stated Mortensen. |
 Leigha Underwood of Alsum Insurance pictured with MVHS seniors Brad Weiss and Shelby Thompson after Weiss was presented with the NIAA Farmers Scholarship during Senior Awards Night on Wednesday, May 20. |
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| Lori Markosek, representing the Bowler family, presented the first award, the Grant M. Bowler Pursuit of Excellence Award. It was awarded to Jonathan Oglesby. Markosek told the story of her father, Grant M. Bowler, and of his desire to attend a university, even though he had only a dollar to his name. “He wanted to help anyone he could to get an education, but he knew they would need some money in their pocket, even if it was just a dollar,” said Markosek.
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 Olivia Dominguez for her “hard work and positive can-do attitude”. Matt Messer, athletic director and teacher presented Athletes of the Year Scholarships to Brianne Olige and Brad Weiss. Messer also recognized Shelby Thompson, Brianne Olige, Max Jenkins, Shaun Hilton, Brad Weiss, and Matt Delgadillo for playing three sports for four years. Finally, Messer presented the Lloyd J. Draayer award which went Jessica Waite. Michael Vanozzi, a representative from Senator Harry Reid’s office then took the stage to present awards to the 2009 Valedictorians and Salutatorian. These awards were presented to Valedictorians Christina Earon, Anthony Jacobsmeyer, Grant Mecham, Benjamin Paul, Noelle Rust, Yujie Xie and Salutatorian Jonathan Oglesby. Cindy Hardy, represented the Clark County Farm Bureau, presented scholarships to Bracken Brown, Ashlee Diamond, and her own daughter, Hannah Hardy. McDonald’s of Overton representative Rachael Paice presented scholarships to Jonathan Barbosa and Cody Gonzales on behalf of restaurant owners David and Collette Price. Store Manager, Darin Leach of Lin’s Marketplace was proud to award the Lin’s Scholarship to two dedicated students, Bailey Hutchison and Hannah Hardy. Jackie Worthen of the Moapa Valley Art Guild awarded the next scholarships to two aspiring artists, Emily Call and Grace Turner. Gary Batchelor of the Moapa Valley Performing Arts Council awarded a scholarship to Shelby Bennett for her involvement in the performing arts. Jeannie Crayton along with her “point woman” Rita Brinker, both of the American Legion Auxillary Diamond Jubilee, Unit 75 presented a scholarship to Jonathan Oglesby. Ben and Kay Robison along with Lori Sandoval presented the Robison/Sandoval Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $2000. The scholarship was awarded to Anthony Conti. MVHS Drama teacher Kenna Dalley then spoke of traditions, “We have tried to continue traditions as well as start new ones,” she said. “Now let’s part from tradition for just a moment.” Dalley then awarded two tech students in place of actors. Kyle Moore and Emma Hardy were awarded for their outstanding devotion to drama. “I don’t know how the shows would have gone on without these two students,” stated Dalley. A new tradition Dalley started was awarding “Block M” awards for dedication to drama. These went to Kyle Moore, Emma Hardy and Abigail Brill. Brian Rebman, representing the MVHS Booster Club, awarded ten Booster Club Scholarships to Hannah Hardy, Max Jenkins, Lauren Kimmel, Krysta-Lynn Millington, Ellise Mulcock, Jonathan Oglesby, Megan Stringham, Brad Weiss, Tyler Williams and Kayla Riggins. The “Nicole May Scholarship” was then presented by National Honor Society Advisor Donna Swanson. Commending the students for their long hours of community service, the scholarships were awarded to Noelle Rust and Anthony Jacobsmeyer. Roxanne LaBeau was next representing the Moapa Valley Rotary Club. LaBeau commented on the high caliber of student coming out of MVHS, “There is hope for the future!” she said. Four student were awarded the Rotary scholarship including; Christina Earon, Jonathan Oglesby, Noelle Rust and Sierra Saunders. School Counselor Rendal Esplin then presented several scholarships from local business establishments. The Moapa Valley Federal Credit Union Scholarship was presented to Em’Lee Babb and Justin Watkins. The Overton Power District Scholarship was presented to Arielle Gollahon. The Valley-Leavitt Insurance Scholarship was presented to Anthony Jacobsmeyer. School Counselor Norita Espinosa then presented the Darrell and Arlene Waite Family Scholarship to Hannah Hardy, the Western States H. S. Rodeo Scholarship to Kerri Gurule and Kayla Leachman, the MVHS High School Rodeo Scholarship also went to Kerri Gurule and Kayla Leachman, and the Cal and Tonia Paine Educational Scholarship was presented to Anthony Jacobsmeyer. Tiffany’s owner Scott Carson presented Tiffany’s Scholarships and Disney graduation caps to McKay Winzenried, Olivia Dominguez, Chelsie McConnell, Emily Call, Noelle Rust and Grace Turner. MVHS Principal Grant Hanevold then recognized the six Valedictorians and one Salutatorian and announced what remained of the student awards. Many students were awarded various scholarships and awards from outside donors. Many students from MVHS also qualified for the Millennium Scholarship and many graduated with Advanced and Honors Diplomas. |
