(Submitted by Lion Jack Durnin)
The Plano Early Lions Club hosted parade award recipients at their meeting on January 3, 2009. This year marked the third year that Plano Early Lions Club members ran the Plano Children’s Christmas Parade. According to Parade Chairman, Ken Gleason, this year’s parade had over 2000 people marching, plus those in the bands, drill teams, cheerleaders and ROTC units. Truly this was a “Children’s” parade! Ken thanked the Methodists Men’s Club for the help they provided, as well as the Plano Amateur Radio Klub (PARK) for their assistance during the parade.
Awards went to the following organizations:
· Lil’ Ocelets YMCA Adventure Princesses for “Plano Santa Award” Image 1. Accepting the award was Don and Lindsey Bouvier and Jeremy and Riley Thompson.
· Prestonwood G.P.S. Girls for “Best use of Theme” Image 2. Accepting the award was Doug Goodrich and Brandon Carmichael.
· Plano West “Mighty Wolf” Band for “Best Walking Unit” Image 3. Accepting the award was Shiv Venhatasetty.
· YMCA Trailblazers and YMCA for “Best Overall Float” Image 4. Accepting the award was Mike Krieger.
· Parkway Hills Baptist Church for “Grand Marshall Award” Image 5. Accepting the award was Beth Simmons.
· YMCA adventure Guides & Princesses (3rd Grade Ladybugs, 2nd Grade Rainbow Flowers, and Kindergarten Superheroes) for “Chairman’s Award” Image 6. Accepting the award was Dan Utley.
· Plano Senior High School Band Boosters for “Most Decorated Bus” Image 7. Accepting the award were Kim Rhea, Elise Castellanos, Terry Castellanos, and Mike Barishman.
On Saturday, January 10, 2009, two students from Plano took top honors in a speech contest sponsored by the Lions Clubs in Lions District 2-X1. Their speech topic was “Drug Abuse – Paradise Lost”. The contest drew 12 contestants who represented 8 Lions Clubs from the district. First rounds of competition were January 3, 2009. There Samuel Scott and Ali Mavrakis, both representing the Plano Early Lions Club were able to defeat their rivals and advance to the Finals Round, along with Marinela Demirazi who represented the Richardson Host Lions Club.
Saturday’s competition was held during the Lion’s mid-winter convention. Here both Samuel and Ali did a great job of representing Plano. Samuel Scott won first place and a $1000 scholarship, plus the opportunity to compete at the State Convention later this year. Samuel is a junior at Plano Senior High School who would like to attend the University of Texas.
Second place went to Ali Mavrakis, also representing the Plano Early Lions Club. For his efforts, Ali was awarded a $750 scholarship. Ali is a student at Plano West High School who also wants to attend the University of Texas.
After overcoming several mechanical and electronic glitches, I have a finished product – a DVD that includes 275+ photos taken at the December Christmas parade, a short montage of the award floats and presentation, and a 70 minute video of the parade. Let me know if you would be interested in obtaining a copy.
Lion Tom Richardson
(note: This was actually entered last year, and I just now noticed that there was an unpublished entry! — Lion Howard/Webmaster)
On Saturday, January 3, 2009, two students from Plano participated in a Speakers Contest sponsored by local Lions clubs. Ali Mavrakis, Plano West HS and Samuel Scott, Plano Senior HS, participated in the Lions District Quarter-Finals to the Semi-Finals Rounds. This was the first time in several years that Plano Early Lions Club (PELC) sponsored students in this annual event. This year’s topic was “Drug Abuse – Paradise Lost”. On Saturday, January 10, 2009 Ali and Samuel will participate in the District Final Round Competition. First prize is a $1000 scholarship. Next step after the District Final Competition will be the State Student Speakers Contest and a chance to win additional scholarships.
DeAnne Rogers, the Project Chair for PELC’s Speaker Contest, had high praise for both students. She could see that the time and effort both Ali and Samuel put into their presentations was very evident during the competition. DeAnne has invited all PELC members to come to the Finals Competition next week to cheer on their entries.
Sam Scott, District Speaker's Contest Semifinalist
(Left) Samuel Scott’s speech coach is Cheryl Potts. Scott would like to attend The University of Texas. He is a member of the National Honor Society, runs cross country for Plano Senior HS and is a Plano Teen Court Attorney.
Ali Mavakis, District Speaker's Contest Semifinalist
(Right) Ali Mavrakis would also like to attend The University of Texas upon graduation. He was a Speech and Debate Quarter Finalists in Foreign Speaking at State. In addition to speech and debate activity, Ali is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Congress and Model UN Junior Vice President. While at Jasper HS he was President of STAND (Students Taking Action Not Drugs). Nancy Lewis is Ali’s speech coach.
Congratulations to both of our semifinalists, and good luck at the Mid-Winter Conference!