State of Vermont s13

State of Vermont

House of Representatives Montpelier, Vermont Concurrent House Resolution H.C.R. 319 House concurrent resolution congratulating the 2008 Vermont winners of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards Offered by: Representatives Masland of Thetford, Cheney of Norwich, Clarkson of Woodstock, Fisher of Lincoln, Larocque of Barnet, Otterman of Topsham and Sharpe of Bristol Offered by: Senators Campbell, Ayer, Coppenrath, Giard, Kitchel, MacDonald, McCormack and Nitka Whereas, individual youth volunteer initiatives designed to help individuals in need or nonprofit institutions serve as commendable examples of community service, and Whereas, in order to encourage young persons to engage in these types of creative and worthwhile endeavors, Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals presents the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, which for 13 years has showcased inspiring examples of youth volunteers, and Whereas, the top Vermont honorees in the 2008 Prudential competition are Claire Trombley, a 7th grader at Mount Abraham Middle School of Bristol, and Zoe Isaacs of Sharon, a junior at Woodstock Union High School, and Whereas, Zoe Isaacs organized a program for orphans and other impoverished children in Rwanda, primarily centered on soccer- playing opportunities and supplemented with all-important educational services and HIV-AIDS testing, a concept that she developed after visiting her brother, an aid worker stationed in this African nation, and Whereas, she has worked with a Vermont youth-run nonprofit organization and with an international nonprofit organization in Rwanda, raised thousands of dollars, hired a program coordinator, performed essential administrative, outreach, and publicity services, purchased soccer equipment, and traveled back to Rwanda on more than one trip, and Whereas, Claire Trombley has performed several service roles starting when she was a second-grader by volunteering at her church as an altar server, a Christmas bazaar assistant, and a Christmas card seller and designer, banding songbirds’ legs for research through a nature center, and assisting the American Red Cross with community blood drives, and Whereas, both of these young women will be presented a $1,000.00 cash prize, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., where they will compete with the 100 Prudential finalists from the other 49 states and the District of Columbia for the distinction of being named one of America’s ten top youth volunteers for 2008, and Whereas, two Vermonters, Jamie Eastman of Wells River, a sophomore at Blue Mountain Union High School, and Melanie Meisel of Waterford, a senior at Union Baptist Christian School, were named distinguished finalists and will be awarded engraved bronze medals, and Whereas, Jamie Eastman, a volunteer firefighter, organized a Fire Safety Week program at the local elementary school and worked with his local fire department to educate the children on many aspects of fire safety, including identifying and correcting fire hazards, developing an escape plan, and calling 911 in an emergency, and Whereas, Melanie Meisel’s multiple volunteer activities have involved playing piano and guitar for her church’s youth group band, working as a counselor at a Bible camp in Alaska, assisting with her school’s kindergarten class and school lunch program, and raising money that financed her trip to Honduras, where she helped a missionary family build a medical clinic, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:

www.leg.state.vt.us That the General Assembly congratulates the 2008 Vermont winners of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, and be it further Resolved: That the secretary of state be directed to send a copy of this resolution to each student honored in this resolution.

www.leg.state.vt.us