Students rewarded for Smokey Bear creations Six...

Students rewarded for Smokey Bear creations

Six Pegasus School students won a poster contest celebrating

Smokey the Bear’s 60th birthday.

The contest was sponsored by the Newport Beach Land Lovers Garden

Club. The winning children were Emily Knapp, Massio Navarretta,

Jonathan Stanback, Austen Boyce, Michael Stanback and Morgan

Boukather. The contest pitted Pegasus students against young artists

from across Orange County.

Austen said her poster shows Smokey Bear flanked by a boy, a girl

and a firefighter, and has the caption, “Help Smokey Bear be a

friend.”

“I like to draw and I used to always sing the song about Smokey

Bear and I just decided to do it fun,” she said.

The children will receive their awards, a certificate and a check

for $10 at the California Garden Club Inc. convention June 5. They

will also be recognized at the Land Lovers Garden Club meeting June

14.

Huntington Beach college students earn scholarships

Two Huntington Beach students at Golden West College won

scholarships from the Alpha Gamma Sigma Honor Society for academic

achievements and community service.

Alpha Gamma Sigma is a statewide group for high-achieving

community college students. Winners of the awards were announced

April 24, and $38,200 was awarded statewide.

Melody Christensen, secretary of the college’s chapter of the

California Student Nurses Assn., won a $600 scholarship for earning a

4.0 GPA while at Golden West.

Hai Mai, an international student from Vietnam living in Surf

City, was recognized for his community service. Mai has logged 350

service hours and has twice been named Senator of the Month while

serving in student government. Mai won $500.

School board member honored for service

Huntington Beach City School Board member Shirley Carey was

honored with the Marian Bergeson Award for her work on behalf of

public schools.

The award, created in 1974 by the Orange County School Boards

Assn., is given annually to salute school board members who provide

outstanding service as a school board member and in the community.

Carey worked to set up the Substance Abuse and Violence Education

task force to keep kids off drugs after Drug Abuse Resistance

Education was cut out of the budget.

She also played a major role in starting the annual Youth

Character Awards, which have recognized more than 250 outstanding

Huntington Beach youngsters over the past three years. Carey also

helped create the Family Resource Center, which assists the needy in

Huntington Beach.

Bergeson, a former president of the California School Boards

Assn., California Secretary of Education and state legislator,

presented the award to Carey on April 21.

“It’s always an honor,” Carey said. “Marian’s been a mentor for a

long time, so it was great to receive it from her.”

Bergeson, also a past member of the Newport-Mesa School District

board, has set an example by showing how school board members can

have an active role in the community, Carey said.