The Florence Area Chamber of Commerce Presents
2015 Rhododendron Court
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SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF FLORENCE • DUNES CITY • WESTLAKE • MAPLETON • SWISSHOME • DEADWOOD • YACHATS AND ALL POINTS BETWEEN
Seeking
dedicated young
women and men
To form the
2015
RHODODENDRON
You must be a Junior or Senior at
Siuslaw or Mapleton High Schools
COURT
Must have a 3.0 grade point average
REQUIREMENTS:
The Rhododendron Court will compete
for the title of Queen Rhododendron and
King of the Coast and scholarships on
May 6th at the Florence Events Center
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Rhody Festival’s 2014 roster of royalty
Fifteen Siuslaw and Mapleton students have been selected to represent annual festival. For the first time, royal court includes five male students.
B Y T HERESA B AER
Siuslaw News
The Florence
Area Chamber of
C o m m e r c e
Rhododendron
Court committee
announced
on
Monday the 2014
Senior Court Princes and Princesses.
For the first time in its history, the
court includes five princes. They are
Trevor Denning, Samuel Johnson,
Derek Kennedy, Jacob Kirby and
Jeremiah Tupua, all seniors at Siuslaw
High School.
Students were selected primarily
through an application process that
required brief essays titled “Why I
Want to Be An Ambassador for the
Florence Rhododendron Festival.”
Among the male applicants, the
responding theme focused on their
desire to represent the town of
Florence and their school.
About 10 female high school stu-
dents vied for positions on the Rhody
Festival Senior Court of princesses,
making the selection process a bit
more challenging. After reviewing
students’ essays and following up
with some interviews, the following
students were named 2014 princesses:
Jireh Teo, Katrina Greenlief, Sara
Burns, Maygan Sturm and Sonya
Lang. Four of the princesses are sen-
iors from Siuslaw High School; Lang
is a senior at Mapleton High School.
The new princesses also focused in
their written applications on the
opportunity to represent the commu-
nity through the traditions of the
annual festival. Others stated their
ambition of raising scholarship funds
for college.
The mission of the Rhododendron
Court program is to provide scholar-
ships for higher education, to promote
community outreach and volun-
teerism, to offer networking and men-
torship opportunities to outstanding
young women and, this year, young
men, in a program that perpetuates an
appreciation for Rhododendron
Festival history and tradition.
Last month, five junior princesses
were named by the chamber commit-
tee. These young students will be
paired with senior court princesses in
a mentorship program.
The five members of the Junior
Princess Court are Ashlyn Hart, first
grade; Aubrie Lynn Saari, second
grade; Kiana Moody, third grade;
Zoey Elizabeth Slider, fourth grade;
and Lizbeth Garcia, fifth grade.
Moody attends Mapleton Elementary
School; the other junior princesses
live in Florence and attend Siuslaw.
A panel of five chamber members
made the final selections from the
prince and princess candidates.
Members of the Rhody Courts will
visit community events, business
leaders, senior living centers, youth
organizations and civic groups. They
also receive mentorship and will par-
ticipate in the Rhododendron Festival
Showcase on May 7, during which
they will compete for the title of
Queen Rhododendra and King of the
Coast.
Their first public appearance will
be at the Florence Kiwanis Club on
Feb. 26.
The senior members of the royal
court will soon begin working to raise
money for scholarships.
S E N I O R C O U RT – P R I N C E S S E S
Sara Burns
Katrina Greenlief
Sonya Lang
Maygan Sturm
Jireh Teo
S E N I O R C O U RT – P R I N C E S
Trevor Denning
Samuel Johnson
Derek Kennedy
Jacob Kirby
Jeremiah Tupua
J U N I O R C O U RT – P R I N C E S S E S
Lizbeth Garcia
Ashlyn Hart
Kiana Moody
Aubrie Saari
Zoey Slider
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SIUSLAW AND MAPLETON HIGH SCHOOLS
New position at Kaylee Graham named top volunteer
Habitat expands
agency’s reach
Founder of citywide event recognized nationally for outstanding acts of volunteerism.
DEADLINE
JANUARY 1
5TH
2015
Florence Habitat for Humanity
announced this week that Ken Gaylord
has been named the agency’s new
neighborhood revitalization manager.
Gaylord recently left the position of
interim executive director of Florence
Food Share, an organization with which
he has been associated since 2008.
His extensive career as a manage-
ment consultant includes a position
with Siuslaw Outreach Services in 2010
Ken Gaylord
and almost three years with the Boys
and Girls Club of Western Lane County as executive director
then resource development officer. Gaylord has been involved
with Florence Food Share since first moving to Florence in
2008. He is a longtime volunteer there as well as serving as
board president. He joined staff while the food pantry was
being remodeled and has served as interim executive director
since July 2013.
“As former executive director of the Boys and Girls Club
and Florence Food Share and as a member of the Florence
Habitat for Humanity board of directors, Ken is well versed in
the administration of not-for-profit organizations in general
and Habitat for Humanity in particular,” said Habitat
Executive Director Kate McBroom-Redwine.
The neigborhood revitalization manager position is part of
See
HABITAT 8A
Kaylee Graham
Washington, D.C., where they will join
honorees from each state and the District of
Columbia for four days of events. During
the trip, 10 students will be named
America’s top youth volunteers of 2014.
Siuslaw Middle School nominated
Kaylee for the award, which is conducted
in partnership with the National
Association of Secondary School
Principals.
Principal Andy Grzeskowiak said he was
not surprised to learn she was selected.
“She is very deserving of this award. She
goes above and beyond trying to do things
See
GRAHAM 8A
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Siuslaw News
On Monday, 14-year-old Kaylee
Graham, the daughter of Tod and
Shannon Graham of Florence, learned
she was chosen as one of Oregon’s top
two youth volunteers of 2014 by the
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards,
a nationwide program honoring out-
standing acts of volunteerism.
Kaylee, an eighth-grader at Siuslaw
Middle School, is best known locally as
the founder of the annual Power of
Florence, a citywide day of volunteer-
ing started in 2011. She is humble about
her accomplishments.
“I think I got the award because our
community has come together and made
the event so big. So the big numbers of
food collected, money raised and proj-
ects completed are because of what the
community has done,” she said.
Based on the number of volunteer hours
Kaylee has contributed to her community,
she also qualified for the President’s
Volunteer Service Award, given on behalf
of President Barack Obama, and will
receive in the mail a certificate and letter
from the President.
Kaylee’s fellow honoree in Oregon for
the Prudential award is Christopher
Younkins, 18, of Portland. Kaylee and
Younkins will each receive $1,000, an
engraved silver medallion and an all-
expense paid trip in early May to
for others. She makes a concerted effort
to go out in the community and spends a
lot of her free time doing what she can,”
he said.
Grzeskowiak said he was surprised,
however, by Kaylee’s resume, which he
saw in October when working on the
nomination.
“I found out then that I only knew
about half of what she did. She works
with faith-based organizations, serving
people in poverty. She has worked with a
ton of social service organizations,” the
principal said.
Kaylee is not the first in her family to
receive the Prudential honors. Her broth-
er Taylor, who started the annual Read
for the Need Book Sale, a fundraiser for
Florence Food Share, was selected as
Oregon’s honoree in 2010 and later
named one of 10 national honorees.
Shannon Graham said yesterday that
having her two children selected is “over-
whelming.”
“I can’t really fathom it. The fact that
both kids were honored this way says so
much about our community, where the peo-
ple are amazingly generous time and time
again. … Our family feels blessed to be
here, where they support my children in
their endeavors.”
Volunteering has always been important
to the Graham family. When pressed,
Shannon credits her children with the
B
For more information visit our website
www.fl orencechamber.com or
Call 541-997-3128
B Y T HERESA B AER
—
Pick up your application at
--> www.fl orencechamber.com/
--> Siuslaw High School Main Offi ce
--> Mapelton High School Main Offi ce
--> or email request to cindywobbe@msn.com
Siuslaw News
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F AVORITE F RONT P AGES 2014 • 3