Councils Salute Cadets, Coast Guardsmen at Awards Nights

Sea Power,  Aug 2004  by Atkinson, Peter E

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Kaua'i Council Honors Essay Contest Winners, Coast Guardsmen of the Year

The Kaua'i, Hawaii, Council presented two local high school students with scholarships for winning its essay contest, along with honoring its Coast Guardsmen of the Year, during its awards night in May.

Ashley Jones and julian helder, both seniors at Island High School, were given 0 $0 20 ,0 000 and 0 $0 10 ,0 500 scholarships, respectively, for their essays. The theme of the essay contest was "The Evolution of the Revenue Cutter Service." The scholarships were presented to Jones and helder by council scholarship chairwoman Sandra Gage.

Jones, who was president of the Island High National Honor Society from 2001 to 2003, will be attending Dennison University in Granville, Ohio, in the fall. She will major in international studies and minor in French. helder, who was a member of the Sea Cadets Corps' John Berger Division before it disbanded, will attend San Francisco State University. helder, an avid diver, plans to major in economics and business.

The council also honored Damage Controlman 2nd Class Todd Bontrager as its Nawiliwili Station Coast Guardsman of the Year and Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Seth Carter as its USCGC Kittiwake Sailor of the Year at the awards night. Both were presented their awards by council President Al Moe. Nawiliwili is one of the council's adopted stations and the Kittiwake is one of the council's adopted ships.

The awards night was held at the Kaua'i Community College dining room, where the dinner was prepared by students from the school's culinary arts program.

Atlanta Metropolitan Council Names Its 2004 JROTC, Sea Cadet Award Winners

The Atlanta Metropolitan Council held its "1 lth Annual Youth Awards Banquet" May 13 and named Cadet Lt. Cmdr. James D. Lovett, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Kennesaw, Ga., the 2004 winner of the JROTC Award. he was selected from 34 nominees. The council also named Cadet Mary N. Lewallen, Bowdon, Ga., of the USS Warrior Sea Cadet unit, as the top Sea Cadet. She was selected from six nominees. Each winner received a $300 U.S. Savings Bond.

The JROTC award was presented by council President Harley Jones. The Sea Cadet William T. Schwendler Award for Excellence was presented by Jones and William T. Schwendler Jr. Retired Rear Adm. casey W. Coane, the council's director for the Sea Cadet program, was the award dinner's keynote speaker.

Cadet Major Sarah Bergstrom, of Cumming, Ga., a student at North Forsyth County High School, received a $200 U.S. Savings Bond for second place in the JROTC competition. Four Cadets received $75 bonds for Honorable Mention.

Cadet Charles E. Genner, Atlanta, from the 2745th Seabee Battalion, received a 0 $0 150 Savings Bond for second place in the Sea Cadet competition.

The Metro Youth Awards program is one of many projects the Atlanta Council conducts for area young people and active duty and reserve personnel. The area boasts 34 high schools with Navy and Marine Corps JROTC units, and six Sea Cadet units, all of which were eligible for the awards.

This year's Navy League Sea Cadet of the Year, Petty Officer 1st Class Ryan Holmes, is from one of the units, the NARS B-I Squadron in Marietta. he was honored at the Navy League National Convention in june, but was on hand for the Atlanta Youth Awards, where he received a Blue Angels lithograph from council member Roz Lawson.

Kingsville Navy Leaguer Wins Military National Weight Lifting Championship

Kingsville, Texas, Navy League member Gary Pamplin, a former Navy chief petty officer, has won his fourth consecutive Military National Weight Lifting Championship.

Pamplin took the title again with a combined lift in the squat, bench press and dead lift of 1,751 pounds, according to Kingsville Council President Dick Nelson. The Military National was held in Killeen, Texas, in March. In April, Pamplin traveled to Trencin, Slovakia, for the IPF World Bench Press Masters Championship. There, he placed fourth in the world in his age group 40-49.

Pamplin only competes in drug-free meets where the athletes are drug tested. Ten years ago he was told to be a good power lifter, you had to take drugs, Nelson said. he set out to prove them wrong and with dedication and hard work, he has done just that, Nelson said. he wants to work with kids to get them to excel in sports without relying on drugs.

Pamplin has accomplished these feats while working full time as an aircraft mechanic at Boeing, pursuing a master's degree in education and being involved in his community as a member of the Ricardo, Texas, School District Board of Directors, Nelson said. Pamplin retired from the Navy in October 1996.

Short Bursts

* Coast Guard Vice Adm. Vivien S. Crea was given the Navy League Scroll of Honor by the Navy League's New England Region at a ceremony in june. Massachusetts Bay Council member Ivan Samuels, immediate New England Region past president, presented her with the scroll.

Crea was promoted to vice admiral in April. She replaces Vice Adm. James Hull, who retired in july, as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. She is one of only three vice admirals in the Coast Guard.