Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Olympic
Snowboarding Champion Seth Wescott Pay Tribute to Norway and Prole
Students as Part of Four-Day Recognition Events
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Two Iowa students, Malea Schulte, 18, of Norway and Brandon Pettit, 11,
of Prole, were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their
outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2010
Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people – along with
100 other top youth volunteers from across the country – received $1,000
awards as well as personal congratulations from former Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and Olympic snowboarding champion Seth Wescott at
the 15th annual award ceremony and gala dinner reception,
held at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Malea and Brandon were named the top high school and middle level youth
volunteers in Iowa last February. In addition to their cash awards, they
received engraved silver medallions and an all-expense-paid trip with
their parents to Washington, D.C., for this week’s recognition events.
“The Prudential Spirit of Community honorees give us great hope for the
future,” said Dr. Rice. “Their compassion and commitment are already
making a real difference in so many lives, and I have no doubt that
their leadership will continue to positively impact the world for many
years to come.”
Malea, a senior at Benton Community High School in Van Horne, painted a
large mural to decorate a new baseball museum in her community, designed
a logo for the museum, helped landscape the area around it, and worked
on beautifying the interior. After viewing “The Final Season,” a movie
about Norway’s winning baseball teams, Malea began to fully appreciate
her town’s rich tradition of championship baseball, and quickly signed
on to assist a budding effort to build a museum. “In Norway, Iowa,
baseball is like our all-encompassing religion,” she said.
After a former bank building was donated to house the museum, Malea
began painting a 6-by-12-foot mural for the exterior, depicting a Norway
baseball player jumping for a fly ball. When it was finished, Malea
worked on the landscaping around the building, helping to remove cement
slabs, install a drainage system, and lay down river rock. Her design
work was used in the museum’s front window and on thank-you cards that
are sold in the museum gift shop. In addition, framed photos of her
mural will be sold in the gift shop to finance the purchase of baseball
gloves for disadvantaged children in the area. “I think every young
person deserves this opportunity, especially children growing up in the
baseball capital of Iowa,” Malea said. “The baseball museum has changed
the attitude of the entire town. It rekindled the pride that was always
there, just hidden.”
Brandon, a sixth-grader at Indianola Middle School in Indianola,
developed and implemented a plan to collect plastic bottles and aluminum
cans at the 2009 Warren County Iowa Fair so that they could be recycled.
Brandon earlier had started a recycling plan for his family, and reduced
his home’s trash output by 75 percent. When he noticed trash cans full
of plastic bottles and pop cans at public events, he decided he needed
to do something about this. “A simple solution is to provide recycling
bins for people to put their empty beverage bottles and cans in at
public events,” he said.
Brandon presented his idea to the Warren County Iowa Fair Board and
obtained its approval to collect recyclables during the 2009 fair last
July. With his father’s help, Brandon purchased 10 recycling containers
to place around the fairgrounds, and then recruited fellow 4-H members
to monitor and empty the bins every day. Afterwards, he and his family
sorted, bagged, and delivered the used cans and bottles to redemption
and recycling centers. “I am happy that I am no longer personally
contributing to our national waste problem but am a part of the
solution,” Brandon said. “Kids should step forward and encourage adults
to make the changes necessary to protect our environment and future
generations.”
“Malea and Brandon are wonderful examples of young Americans who care
about the world around them and have taken the initiative to improve
that world,” said John R. Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential
Financial, Inc. “We salute their effort, their achievements, and their
spirit of community.”
More than 21,000 young people submitted applications for the 2010 awards
program last fall through schools, Girl Scout councils, county 4-H
organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of the
Points of Light Institute’s HandsOn Network. The top middle level and
high school applicants in each state were selected in February and flown
to Washington this week with their parents for four days of special
recognition events.
Conducted in partnership with the National Association of Secondary
School Principals (NASSP), The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
were created 15 years ago by Prudential Financial to encourage youth
volunteerism and to identify and reward young role models. Since then,
the program has honored nearly 100,000 young volunteers at the local,
state and national level.
“The young women and men in America’s schools are nothing short of
amazing, and nowhere is this more evident than amongst this year’s award
recipients,” said NASSP President Steven Pophal. “They possess a keen
intellect, servant hearts, capable leadership skills, and are filled
with energy and ambition. NASSP and Prudential are honored to recognize
them.”
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards are supported by the American
Association of School Administrators, the National Middle School
Association, the National School Boards Association, the Council of the
Great City Schools, Girl Scouts of the USA, National 4-H Council, the
American Red Cross, YMCA of the USA, the Points of Light Institute, and
other national education and service organizations.
More information about The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards and
this year’s honorees can be found at http://spirit.prudential.com
or www.principals.org/spirit.
In existence since 1916, the National Association of Secondary School
Principals (NASSP) is the preeminent organization of and national voice
for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and
aspiring school leaders from across the United States and more than 45
countries around the world. NASSP’s mission is to promote excellence in
school leadership. The National Honor Society®, National Junior Honor
Society®, National Elementary Honor Society™, and National Association
of Student Councils® are all NASSP programs. For more information about
NASSP, located in Reston, Va., visit www.principals.org
or call 703-860-0200.
Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU) is a financial services leader
with operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management
expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million
individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. In
the United States, the company’s Rock symbol is an icon of strength,
stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time.
Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services,
including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual
funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more
information, visit www.news.prudential.com.
[Editors: full-color pictures of the Spirit of Community Awards
program logo and medallions are available at spirit.prudential.com.]
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6273401&lang=en
Prudential
Harold Banks, 973-802-8974 or 973-216-4833
or
NASSP
Robert
Farrace, 703-860-7257
On May 3, 8:30 am - 4 pm EDT: 202-955-1155 or
1166
Source: Prudential Financial
