DAR honors essay winners and good citizens
On Thursday, the Hic-a-sha-ba-ha Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated the American History Essay Winners from schools in Oktibbeha County.
Pictured are the winners from left to right: Ruby Grice of Starkville Academy, Christian Riekhof of Starkville Academy, Jet Taylor of Starkville Academy, and Mackenzie Murphy of Starkville Christian School. (Courtesy photo)
On Thursday, the Hic-a-sha-ba-ha Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated the American History Essay Winners from schools in Oktibbeha County, as well as honored the Good Citizen Award winners.
The DAR Good Citizens Award
On Thursday, the Hic-a-sha-ba-ha Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution honored the Good Citizen Award winners from the three high schools in the county.
Pictured are the winners from left to right: Lana Joy Ballard of Starkville Christian School, Mary Phillips Keenum of Starkville Academy, and Autumn Mcneill Shannon of Starkville High School. (Photo by Cal Brown, SDN) recognizes and rewards high school seniors who possess the qualities of dependability, service, leadership, and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. The Hic-a-shaba-ha Chapter chose a winner from each of the three high schools in the county: Starkville High School, Starkville Academy, and Starkville Christian School.
The first winner recognized was Autumn Mcneil Shannon of Starkville High School. SHS faculty member Susan Weaver walked up to the podium to introduce Shannon as the school's recipient of the DAR Good Citizen Award and although this is her first year
at SHS, it did not take long for Shannon to make a good impression on her.
“Whether she's making the morning announcements, acting as a student ambassador to the students, or serving as the student body president, she gives her all in everything she does,” said Weaver. “She is civic minded and truly is a servant to our school. She is energetic, outgoing, and driven. She's in the top ten of a class of 370 students and she effortlessly balances a demanding schedule, including early honors classes at MSU.”
Starkville Academy's Mary Phillips Keenum was the second winner recognized. SA counselor Jessica Hubbard was called up to introduce Keenum, and she had nothing but good things to say about the SA senior.
“It is our pleasure to have Mary Phillips as one of our seniors,” said Hubbard. “I have several quotes from faculty members from the school about Mary Phillips, and I will say that she is quite deserving of the DAR Good Citizen Award for many reasons. Her honesty and trustworthiness is above par. Regarding rules, Mary Phillips is a leader for her peers. She demonstrates immediate compassion to others, regardless of the situation. Mary Phillips assumes responsibility without being directed and assumes accountability for all of her actions.”
The third winner recognized was Lana Joy Ballard of Starkville Christian School, and SCS faculty member Cindy Alderman introduced her to the event's attendance.
“I have had Lana as one of my kids since she was in the 8th grade, and I have watched her grow into this wonderful young woman who is getting ready to sprout her wings, go on to State, and who knows after that,” said Alderman. “Lana does exude the things that we want to see in our citizens. She is very mindful of those around her, and she gives in so many different ways.”
The American History Essay contest is for any student in grades five through twelve. This year, there were four winners for the American History challenge, two from the elementary grades, and two from the high school grades. There were 159 essays entered into the contest.
Three Starkville Academy students were winners of the American History Challenge, and they are 5th grader Jet Taylor, 6th grader Ruby Grice, and 8th grader Christian Riekhof. 11th grader Mackenzie Murphy of Starkville Christian School was the other winner.