Mt. Vernon HighTech Academy

   From left; Kiwanian Mike Adkins, program chair for April, introduced Matthew Remmel, student and Tom Shaver teacher from Mt. Vernon High School. 

They presented a fascinating look at the Mt. Vernon HighTech Academy.  The academy was formed with help from an Eli Lilly grant and includes students from all the county high schools.  There are no other academies like this in the whole country.  Students are involved with Rapid Prototyping, Motion Capturing, Animation and 3-D Visions and are learning and using a whole new world of concepts.

SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions)

From left; Amy Ingram, sponsor of SADD, with her Mt. Vernon High School students Jackie Hernandez, Ellie Nowak, Savannah Poe and Kiwanian Mike Adkins.

Kiwanis heard members from SADD (Students against Destructive Decisions) from Mt. Vernon High School. The group was originally associated with a group called VOICE that worked against the use of tobacco but the group now advocates against all destructive behavior. Behaviors such as Drinking, Drugs, Smoking, Texting or Eating while driving or anything that might take attention away from driving or living responsibly. The group works to enhance awareness of harmful activities that could lead to problems. They work to educate younger students about making healthy choices. Questions about the group may be directed to mvhssadd@yahoo.com.

New Member Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith, a new Kiwanis member, with her sponsor Kathy Medved.

Sister City Program young

Robert Young was introduced to speak to Kiwanis by friend Nancy Ferdon.

Robert Young spoke to Kiwanis about the problems following the earthquake in Japan. He is a representative of the Sister City Program and told of communications with Kakuda friends. He told of the many problems Japan is dealing with and how we can be of help to our Sister City. Due to the tragedy, there will be no student exchange between our cities this year. Cash donations are being collected to send to Kakuda to use as needed. Donations may be sent to: Community Foundation marked for Kakuda.