Fort Bend Lifestyles and Homes September 2009
Teens For Green Wetlands Documentary Screening - Hightower High School’s Electronic Media Academy premiered its first student-produced documentary on
the condition of wetlands near Houston and within the county of Fort Bend.
The documentary, called Teens for Green, was funded by a Captain Planet Foundation grant and a Best Buy Teacher grant.
Mayors from Houston, Richmond, Sugar Land and Missouri City were
invited to the premiere as well as a host of environmental specialists,
programs, clubs and organizations.
Educational DVD’s will be produced by the students and copies of the DVD will be distributed to
all Fort Bend ISD schools, the Houston library and Houston Community College,
Stafford campus library.
The media academy is a four-year academy program where students learn digital
graphics, animation, digital movie-making and broadcast journalism.
Russell Harrison earns the rank of Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor ceremony.
Russell Harrison Receives Eagle Scout Rank - Russell Harrison of Troop 1656 was recognized as an Eagle Scout in the Tomahawk District of the
Sam Houston Area Council with an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Russell was
required to earn 21 merit badges. His leadership positions have included patrol
leader, librarian, den chief and Order of the Arrow representative and troop
guide. Russell was also elected by his peers to the Order of the Arrow, which
is Scouts Honor Society committed to service, and earned his OA Brotherhood 10
months later. Russell has also taken the National Youth Leader Training and has
over 70 nights of camping.
Russell’s Eagle Project was refurbishing and donating his youth swing set, which
included dismantling, refurbishing and reassembling it at the new location.
Russell had the help of other Scouts to complete the project in a little over
320 hours. Russell
’s community service since joining Scouts is constantly increasing. He was
awarded a certificate of appreciation from Foster High School for earning the
most service hours for the 10th grade for the 2008-09 school year.
He was featured on the National Order of the Arrow Web site in the Power of One
section. This section features the scouts showing how one person can make a
difference in the lives of others.
New Territory Torpedoes End Another Successful Season - Another season ended for the New Territory Torpedoes with the Southwest
Houston Recreational Swim League All-Stars Meet. The Torpedoes com
peted in Division 2 this year with the First Colony Piranhas, Pecan Grove
Piranhas and the Maplewood Marlins. The Torpedoes shared this year
’s Division 2 Sportsmanship Award with the First Colony Piranhas and the Division
Championship with Maplewood. The Torpedoes had 26 individual swimmers and seven
relays ea
rn spots to compete in the SHRSL All-Stars Meet, many earning this honor for the
first time.
Girl Scout Troop 147 members stop at China Town for a visit while in Chicago.
Girl Scout Troop 147 Travels to the Windy City - The 15 girls of Troop 147 of San Jacinto Council traveled to Chicago after
fundraising for a year. The girls, ages 13 to 15, earned nearly $5,000 by
selling candy, Girl Scout cookies, hosting several baby-sitting events, garage
sales and more.
The girls flew to Chicago for a five-night trip and visited the Navy Pier, Field
Museum of Natural Science,
(L-R) Becky Brake, Kendall Raisbeck and Toni Gee
United States Pony Club Rio-Grande Region Wins National Title in Virginia - Becky Brake, 19, from Richmond, Kendall Raisbeck, 16, from Brookshire, and Toni Gee, 14, from Fulshear, were local Pony Club members who represented the Rio Grande
Region at the United States Pony Club East Coast Championships held in
Lexington, Va. The club won the National Dressage Training Division and placed
second in Horse Management.
(L-R, front row) Brandal McCormack; Kevin Kline, Snowdrop Foundation
president; Jonathan Nitsch; (back row) James Kitchen; Matthew Furman; Justin
Elliott; David Schonian; Bree Kulhanek; Emily Rhodes; and Trish Kline, Snowdrop
Foundation executive director.
Local Charity Provides Scholarships - Snowdrop Foundation held a celebration luncheon sponsored by Safari Texas Ranch
to congratulate 21 students from across the United States who have overcome
cancer and presented them
(L-R) Ana Kanna Mejorada, Caroline Weston, Carolyn Mao, Katrina DeVaney, Amanda
McGuire and
Sara Davis. Not pictured: Shirley Lu.
Troop 547 Earns Cruise by Selling Girl Scout Cookies - Girl Scout Senior Troop 547 boarded the Carnival Cruise ship The Ecstasy out of Galveston for a 7-day Caribbean cruise completely paid for by money
earned selling Girl Scout cookies.
The plan was put into action eight years ago when they took a vote and set the
goal to
Lamar American team members are: (l-r, back row) Colin Ciancarelli, Cole Turney,
Daniel Boehm, Zach Escobar, Ryan Harris, Jack Johnson; (front row) Dominic Cox,
Brandon Pruitt, Josh LaPierre, Kyle Boudreaux and Allen Stegemiller.
Texas East State Champions - Lamar American Little League’s 10-year-old All-Stars won Area 3, District 18, Section 4 and Texas East State
Championship games, which took place in Tyler.
Adler Aquarium, Sears Tower Skydeck, Museum of Science and Industry and a 1930s
speakeasy called Tommy Gun
’s Garage for dinner and a live show to mention only a few. The troop was
accompanied by leaders
Jane Sullivan and Lisa Rickert and parent chaperone Carla Hunt.
with college scholarships to continue their education at various colleges
throughout the country for the 2009 fall semester.
Fourteen students represented Texas, three were from New York, two from Georgia,
one from Tennessee and one from Illinois.
earn and save enough money from Girl Scout cookie sales to take a cruise the
year they graduated
from high school. They were 10 years old at the time.
Together they worked diligently and were so successful in their cookie selling
efforts that they achieved the honor of
“Super Troop” within the Girl Scout Organization three out of the eight years. Troop leaders Anna Marie Weston and Vanessa Mao kept them busy with countless service projects, camping weekends and sleepovers,
so that the girls would remained focused.
Their scores were: Becky – 66.43, 68.40 and 69.23; Toni Gee – 66.79, 61.20, 66.00 and 61.25 out of 100. Kendall was the stable manger and with
her guidance and attention to detail they came in second with just two points
off throughout the competition. Becky also placed third in the Individual
Musical Freestyle with a score of 69.23. All three girls are also members of
the Houston Dressage Society.
Austin High Angels Dance Team Celebrate Successful Year - The Austin High Angels Dance Team competed in the American Dance Team School
Houston Regional Competition and won the Best of the Best Top Scoring Team of
the competition, along with Best in Class. They also received Outstanding Dance
Technique, Best Overall Choreography, Outstanding Precision Awards and Best
Overall Presentation.
The Angels competed at the MA Dance Grapevine Competition, where they received
Winner
’s Circle, High Point for Lyrical and Modern, Outstanding Technique, Outstanding
Choreography, and Super Sweepstakes. The Angel Officers received Best in Class
at this competiton, along with Winner's Circle, Outstanding Dance Technique and
Outstanding Choreography.
The Angels are directed by Betsy Heathcock and Kristina Tarman. Military Officers for the year were Mariah Mackay, Kristen Flores, Ashley Tran, Shayna Santos, Danielle Perez, Allyssa Abacan, Pam Parker and Shannon Colborne. Social Officers were Brittany Westerman, Alyssa Matus, Payal Sandhane, Shondeen Hechter, Nadine O’beid, Mitali Sanghvi, Sydney Boles and Lindsey Rosales.
Austin High Angels Dance Team
Cheryl Hultquist, tournament director, awards Tyler Moses-Tolopka the
Championship Gold medal in boys 16 singles.
Missouri City Student Takes Gold in Championship Doubles - The Houston Tennis Association hosted the Juniors Champ Major Zone. Tyler Moses-Tolopka of Missouri City and Maxwell Wilson of Leakey, Texas, won gold medals in the
Boys 16 Championship Doubles.
Fort Bend Publishing Group 2008
Featuring the Homes, Communities, People,
Businesses, Professionals, and Lifestyles of
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