Outstanding Youth Awards Scholarship

R17-40

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COUNTY OF YORK YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

Resolution

At a regular meeting of the York County Board of Supervisors held in York Hall, Yorktown, Virginia, on the ____ day of ______, 2017: ______

Present Vote

Sheila S. Noll, Chairman Jeffrey D. Wassmer, Vice Chairman Walter C. Zaremba W. Chad Green Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. ______

On motion of ______, which carried ___, the following resolution was adopted:

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE YENNA CHU ON HER SELECTION AS THE 2017 YORK COUNTY OUT- STANDING YOUTH OF THE YEAR FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE

WHEREAS, the York County Youth Commission and the Board of Supervisors established the Outstanding Youth of the Year Awards Program to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of York County’s youth; and

WHEREAS, Yenna Chu has been chosen by the Selection Committee to receive the 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year Award for Community Service, which she exemplifies by consistently and caringly extending herself to help others; and

WHEREAS, as a sophomore at Grafton High School, Yenna successfully man- ages a demanding schedule, earning highest academic honors, while participating in numerous extracurricular activities, including varsity swimming and tennis, and playing cello in the prestigious Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra; and

WHEREAS, Yenna routinely makes the time to go out of her way to help others, as evidenced by her school service, serving as Freshman Class President last year and First Vice-President this year, and volunteering for Back-to-School Night, Homecoming Day, Teacher Appreciation Day, a midterm stress release project, holiday spirit week, fundraisers for students in need, and also by donating care packages to the Lackey Free Clinic through the SCA’s Make-A-Wish community service idea, and submitting a grant request from Grafton’s SCA for diabetic strips to the clinic; and WHEREAS, Yenna’s volunteer service is especially evident through her long- R17-40 Page 2 time work and heart for children with special needs, a love that her parents first saw in her during elementary school when she would enjoy reading books to special needs students in the school library, a bond she further pursued in middle school and high school as she volunteered to help teach swimming to a York County special needs swim team on Saturday afternoons, and also assisted at the Summer Games in Richmond; and

WHEREAS, last year, Yenna’s desire to befriend and work with students with disabilities led her to organize several teams of volunteers to interact with these special needs students for 20-30 minutes every other day in the gym, playing wheelchair games, softball, bowling, and other activities, to the enjoyment of the students and the student volunteers, and so exceeded expectations that the program has continued this year as well; and

WHEREAS, at the beginning of this school year, Yenna and some of her friends organized a Special Olympics Club at Grafton, which now includes over 150 active members, thanks in large part to Yenna’s initiative and leadership as club President; and

WHEREAS, this fledgling club has performed a remarkable number of volunteer initiatives this year, including: providing “bus buddies” to meet special needs students at their buses in the morning and wheel them into their classroom; preparing morning announcements to raise awareness about inclusion, acceptance, respect and unity; plan- ning a special holiday party for students with disabilities at Grafton Middle School; providing 50 volunteers for the School Division’s special needs Family Fun Night program at the YMCA; staffing volunteers for many other Special Olympic events and fundraisers including a local bowling event, a Field Day held at Ft. Eustis, the annual Polar Plunge in Virginia Beach, and an upcoming state event this June in Richmond; and, raising funds for Special Olympics Virginia totaling over $1,400; and

WHEREAS, Yenna’s dedication is fueled by how fulfilled she feels when working with special needs children and that she wants others to be able to experience this same joy through interacting with and serving these children;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the York County Board of Super- visors on this _____ day of ______, 2017, that Yenna Chu be, and she is hereby, congratulated and commended by the York County Board of Supervisors as York County’s 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year for Community Service.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Yenna Chu be publicly recognized as a most worthy recipient of the Outstanding Youth Award for Community Service, that she be extended the sincere admiration and appreciation of the Board of Supervisors for her exemplary volunteerism, and that she take courage from the fact that the world is indeed a better place because of her efforts to befriend and help those with special needs and challenges and the inspiration she has given many others to do likewise.

R17-41

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COUNTY OF YORK YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

Resolution

At a regular meeting of the York County Board of Supervisors held in York Hall, Yorktown, Virginia, on the ____ day of ______, 2017: ______

Present Vote

Sheila S. Noll, Chairman Jeffrey D. Wassmer, Vice Chairman Walter C. Zaremba W. Chad Green Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. ______

On motion of ______, which carried ___, the following resolution was adopted:

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE ELISE HICKS ON HER SELECTION AS THE 2017 YORK COUNTY OUT- STANDING YOUTH OF THE YEAR FOR COMPASSION

WHEREAS, Elise Hicks has been chosen by the Selection Committee to receive the 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year Award for Compassion, a quality she exemplifies through consistently and caringly extending herself to help others; and

WHEREAS, as a senior at York High School, Elise takes a demanding academic load with advanced placement and other weighted courses, also attending the School of the Arts, and earning membership into the National and Spanish Honor Societies; and

WHEREAS, in spite of her busy schedule, Elise always makes time for others, demonstrating a genuine heart of compassion, especially for those less fortunate or for those facing particular challenges, such as the care she shows serving in the children’s ministry on Sundays and also during her interactions with other teens at twice weekly youth meetings, where she seems to sense whenever someone is discouraged or anxious about a particular problem in their life, is touched by their pain, and will ask if they would like to talk about it, often resulting in Elise selflessly taking the time to caringly listen to the person and offer them encouragement and support; and

R17-41 Page 2

WHEREAS, for the past several years Elise has spent the third Friday night and Saturday morning of every month actively involved in the church’s local food pantry ministry, typically arriving at the church at 6 p.m. that Friday and working until 8:30 or 9:00 p.m., helping to pack 400-600 grocery bags with USDA and donated bread, vege- tables, canned goods, and other food and paper items, and then returns to the church early Saturday morning until about 1:00 p.m. in the afternoon for the food distribution that helps support over 200 families in need; and

WHEREAS, this past November, Elise had the idea of giving clothes away left over from a previous outreach ministry along with monthly food distribution, and en- listed some of her girlfriends to help organize the items, a project so successful that they decided to do it again during December’s food distribution, which resulted in many un- expected clothing donations, leaving Elise determined to design and facilitate a clothing distribution every month alongside the food distribution, which has resulted in an out- pouring of donated clothing items supporting hundreds of people with essentials such as coats for the homeless, children’s school clothes, and comfortable shoes for shift work- ers, and has caused her and several others to stay as late as 10:00 or 11 p.m. on Friday pre-distribution nights to prepare, which has prompted her to train two girls to head up the distribution so it can seamlessly continue after she leaves for college this fall; and

WHEREAS, another example of Elise’s compassion is during a yearly church outreach in Honduras, where she has been impacted by the dire needs and poverty there, and where she can be seen, usually at the head of a visiting group, walking unhesitating- ly, into a home for orphaned boys with special needs or into a shanty town where many men might be timid to go, making eye contact with one of the young children and em- bracing them, carrying them for hours so they could feel loved; and

WHEREAS, Elise’s faith and compassion are stirring a life calling she is preparing for, as God has so captured her heart for the children in Honduras that ever since her first visit she has dedicated herself to learning conversational Spanish, and will attend Liberty University this fall to study Family and Childhood Development while minor- ing in Spanish, with the goal of returning to Honduras as a full-time missionary since she considers the human suffering and the need to serve there greater than anything that could hold her here;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the York County Board of Super- visors on this _____ day of ______, 2017, that Elise Hicks be, and she is hereby, congratulated and commended by the York County Board of Supervisors as York County’s 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year for Compassion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Elise Hicks be publicly recognized as a most worthy recipient of the Outstanding Youth Award for Compassion, that she be extended the sincere admiration and appreciation of the Board of Supervisors as she continues to live a life of exemplary care and concern for others, and that the Board’s best wishes go with her as she makes an impact in this world by continuing to touch one life at a time.

R17-42

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COUNTY OF YORK YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

Resolution

At a regular meeting of the York County Board of Supervisors held in York Hall, Yorktown, Virginia, on the ____ day of ______, 2017: ______

Present Vote

Sheila S. Noll, Chairman Jeffrey D. Wassmer, Vice Chairman Walter C. Zaremba W. Chad Green Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. ______

On motion of ______, which carried ___, the following resolution was adopted:

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE MARQUIS POOLE ON HIS SELECTION AS THE 2017 YORK COUNTY OUTSTANDING YOUTH OF THE YEAR FOR COURAGE

WHEREAS, the York County Youth Commission and the Board of Supervisors established the Outstanding Youth of the Year Awards Program to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of York County’s youth; and

WHEREAS, Marquis Poole has been chosen by the Selection Committee to receive the 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year Award for Courage, a quality he exemplifies and for which he is deeply respected and admired by all privileged to know this Tabb High School senior; and

WHEREAS, as a child, Marquis was healthy, with perfect school attendance through fourth grade, a very good student on the A-B Honor Roll through the fifth grade, and also a gifted, energetic athlete, was cleared by doctors at the age of two from an innocent heart murmur detected as a baby, which allowed him to participate in basketball, baseball, and martial arts classes as a youngster, play AAU travel basketball when he was eight, and earn his second Degree Black Belt by age ten; and

WHEREAS, when, as a sixth grader, Marquis’s heart was racing one day an hour after basketball practice had ended, he was taken to the emergency room and diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a rare disorder present at birth that involves an extra electrical pathway that can cause serious heart problems, and which signaled the R17-42 Page 2 start of some very trying years for Marquis, his loving parents, and younger brother, which included many medical issues and interventions, including his first catheter-based surgical ablation during the spring of sixth grade, but after which his heart function continued to decline; a defibrillator implant in seventh grade following detection of abnormal ventricular rhythms that could cause sudden death, leading the doctor to tell Marquis that he would never play basketball again; two months later being cleared for Physical Education class as long as he did not play any contact sports, but which was followed in just two days by Marquis having a heart attack during P.E. class trying to come in first place on a pacer test (he did tie for first); open heart surgery in Boston the August before the start of 8th grade to hopefully correct all of his arrhythmias; undergoing continued testing and seemingly countless ablations at MCV Hospital in Richmond during his eighth–tenth grade years; developing a blood clot leading to the additional diagnosis of Right Ventricular Dysplasia; and, receiving the prognosis last spring that medications, ablations, and any other procedures would not be able to correct his failing heart and that a transplant was his only option; and

WHEREAS, last October 13, after being placed on the transplant list in May, Marquis and his family received the news that a good match had been located for his transplant, and 15 hours later he entered surgery at Johns Hopkins, which was followed by initial complications and sedation, 16 days in the hospital, and a total three and a half week recovery period, during which time Marquis would repeatedly say to himself that he could do this, one day at a time; and

WHEREAS, Marquis has experienced a miraculous recovery and adjustment to his new heart, free of major complications, and throughout his long illness that threatened his life, was filled with setbacks, disappointments, and uncertainty, he stayed positive and pursued his goals with courage, determination, and hard work, staying on track academically either in school whenever he could, or with home bound, online classes when necessary, to be able to graduate with an Advanced Studies Diploma on schedule with his class, both remarkable achievements and testaments to his fortitude; and

WHEREAS, this past December, Marquis also reached another important high school goal and dream, returning to his beloved sport of basketball and playing in his first varsity game, swishing his first shot, a 3-pointer, just 10 weeks after his heart transplant and some five years after he was told that he would never play basketball again;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the York County Board of Supervisors this ____ day of ______2017, that Marquis Poole be, and he is hereby, congratulated and commended as York County’s 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year for Courage.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Marquis Poole be publicly recognized as a most worthy recipient of the Outstanding Youth Award for Courage, that he be extended the utmost respect and admiration of the Board of Supervisors for his R17-42 Page 3 tremendous inspiration and example to us all, and that the Board’s best wishes go with him for a most rewarding and blessed life, and a bright future filled with continued triumph. R17-43

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COUNTY OF YORK YORKTOWN, VIRGINIA

Resolution

At a regular meeting of the York County Board of Supervisors held in York Hall, Yorktown, Virginia, on the ____ day of ______, 2017: ______

Present Vote

Sheila S. Noll, Chairman Jeffrey D. Wassmer, Vice Chairman Walter C. Zaremba W. Chad Green Thomas G. Shepperd, Jr. ______

On motion of ______, which carried ___, the following resolution was adopted:

A RESOLUTION TO COMMEND AND CONGRATULATE CHLOE DEWEES ON HER SELECTION AS THE 2017 YORK COUNTY OUT- STANDING YOUTH OF THE YEAR FOR OVERALL ACHIEVEMENT

WHEREAS, Chloe DeWees has been chosen by the Selection Committee to receive the 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year Award for Overall Achievement, as she epitomizes excellence and superior performance in a host of endeavors; and

WHEREAS, Chloe’s noteworthy academic achievements at Grafton High School and at Bruton’s School of the Arts program include earning an astounding 4.96 grade point average as Grafton’s 2017 Valedictorian, with straight As in a demanding course load including 14 Advanced Placement classes and an amazing 37 credits; being named a National AP Scholar; receiving Highest Academic Honors all four years; earning membership into the National Honor Society as well as the Spanish and Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Societies; and being named a Graduation Marshal last year; and

WHEREAS, Chloe’s service achievements include over 200 hours of volunteer service through many groups and programs, including working with her St. Luke’s Church youth group in community projects and fundraising for the poor and needy, including preparing and distributing food for the Peninsula’s homeless population through the PORT Emergency Winter Shelter program and also working with the Virginia Pen- R17-43 Page 2 insula Foodbank to help collect and distribute food to low income families; performing Appalachian Service Project work here locally by fundraising barbeques, fence repair and ramp construction, traveling on week-long mission trips for the past three summers performing housing repairs and renovations for the elderly and those living in economi- cally distressed areas, and serving as a Youth Team Leader for the program for the past two years; volunteering with the United Way of Greater Williamsburg as part of her mentorship in the social services field; tutoring high school students in math; and serving as a volunteer assistant coach for an Upward Basketball team; and

WHEREAS, Chloe’s athletic achievements are also noteworthy, including three sports during each of her high school years, lettering in three varsity sports the past two years, including Indoor Track, serving as captain this year; Soccer, on which she was named All Conference Honorable Mention last year; and Football, being named junior varsity captain her tenth grade year, and then playing on the varsity team the past two years as a position player at outside linebacker and wingback; and

WHEREAS, in her spare time, Chloe stays busy with her participation in the Model UN program the past four years; her involvement with Grafton’s Film Society during her sophomore and junior years, in which she wrote and directed a short film; serving as an emcee for the Mr. Grafton contest and fundraiser; earning money working as a restaurant cashier the past year and through babysitting; and pursuing hobbies such as knitting hats for friends, gardening, and maintaining two birdhouses; and

WHEREAS; Chloe’s achievements are more than matched by her character, her natural leadership by example, her strong work ethic, meticulous thoroughness, her in- tegrity and honesty that guide her decision-making inside and outside the classroom, her sense of humor, and her genuine kindness towards others, willingly volunteering whenever someone appears to have a need, and without having to be asked; and,

WHEREAS, Chloe has the character it takes to explain and teach a younger, stronger, and faster athlete her position and the team’s offensive and defensive schemes in football knowing that she was probably costing herself limited playing time by helping him succeed, and her personality and people skills are highly admired because, alt- hough being smart and driven as she is, she remains easy going, doesn’t take herself too seriously, and is witty and engaging;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the York County Board of Super- visors on this _____ day of ______, 2017, that Chloe DeWees be, and she is hereby, congratulated and commended by the York County Board of Supervisors as York County’s 2017 Outstanding Youth of the Year for Overall Achievement.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Chloe DeWees be publicly recognized as a most worthy recipient of the Outstanding Youth Award for Overall Achievement, that she be extended the sincere admiration and appreciation of the Board of Supervisors for her outstanding example as a role model to the youth of our community, and that the Board’s best wishes go with her as she continues to use her talents and abilities in mak- R17-43 Page 3 ing a positive impact in our community and world through helping others.