News from Lake Park High School

Volunteers fill a special role at Lake Park High School. Our programs would not be nearly as successful without the dedication of volunteers working with our activities, athletics, and parent groups.

At Monday night's Board of Education meeting, eight very special individuals and businesses were honored with Lake Park Golden Lance awards for generously sharing their time, talent, or resources with our school.  The Golden Lance Awards honor outstanding volunteers and contributors in three categories:

* VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR: An individual who has distinguished himself/herself through service to Lake Park High School.

� Rory Blanchard - Rory is a Lake Park alum, having graduated in 2004. He has continued to stay active with Snowball (a drug and alcohol prevention program teaching leadership skills) since then by volunteering his time to attend meetings, training sessions, and the Snowball Retreat in March. Rory is a paramedic and also brings his supplies to the retreat to help any student who may be injured. Rory is a shining role model for Lake Park students, having the ability to relate to them in a special way. This year marks the 25th anniversary for Snowball at Lake Park High School.

� Sean Lovelace - Sean taught at WC this past semester, working with our special needs students. He also volunteered as a wrestling coach with the varsity team. He had a huge impact on the team's success this season - showing great wrestling technique and was also a great motivator to our athletes.   At the end of the high school season, Sean coached ten students as they competed in the AAU Freshman/Sophomore State series.  He also started a USA Freestyle/Greco Roman club (Suburban Sprawl) hosted by LPHS. The club offers opportunities for area kids to improve on their wrestling skill.

� Nancy Skie - Nancy has been a key board member of the Lake Booster Club for several years, initially serving as the Director of Book Stores and most recently as its Vice President. She has been instrumental in raising the awareness of the Booster Club among both coaches and Lake Park parents. Additionally, Nancy was key in promoting the Booster's scholarship program, increasing the number of applicants five-fold this year.  Regardless of the task, Nancy is available to lend her advice, support, and time.  Nancy believes in what she does and gives from the bottom of her heart with no expectation of anything in return.

* FRIEND OF LAKE PARK: An individual, group, or business that has supported Lake Park High School through contributions to the District. Contributions may be in the form of volunteer time, money, or in-kind donations.

� HR Imaging Partners, Inc. - HR Imaging was recognized for its commitment to the Lake Park Educational Foundation. HR Imaging, owned by Jerry Halterman, has gone above and beyond by making a five-year, $15,000 financial commitment to the Lake Park High School Educational Foundation. This means an ongoing gift of $3,000 per year to the Foundation through the year 2014.
� Friendly Ford - Joe Kean, the owner of Friendly Ford, is a constant supporter and donor of various Roselle community events.  This year, Friendly Ford was the main contributor to the SADD SIP program, donating the grand prize of $5,000 towards either a college scholarship or a car.  Over 500 Lake Park students turned in completed contracts for this program, which just began this past November.  Part of the reason for the success of this program was the possibility of winning the grand prize.

� Randall and Susan Pearson - The Pearsons hosted a foreign exchange student from our sister school in Hamburg, Germany this past fall semester.  Hosting Nancy allowed her to study at Lake Park without having to go through an expensive exchange service. Because of the Pearson's generosity, Nancy was able to have a wonderful experience at Lake Park, improving her English skills, participating in numerous school clubs. This wouldn't have been possible without the Pearson's help. Even though their son Jeremy graduated from Lake Park in 2007, the Pearson's have continued to be involved with the school and have been a wonderful asset to the foreign exchange program at Lake Park.

� Tish Petrucci - Tish has been a leader among volunteers at Lake Park. Tish has been active with the Lake Park Partners in Education, having served as the group's treasurer, website coordinator, and a sender school liaison over the past four years.  Tish initiated the School Directory project two years ago, starting with a blank piece of paper and making it what it is today. She also volunteers for the Lake Park Band and other community groups.  Tish has definitely contributed to making Lake Park better through her service to the community.

DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN OF THE YEAR: An individual who embodies the Spirit of the Lancer through his or her participation at Lake Park High School events.

� Linda Szramiak - Linda exemplifies the Golden Lancer Distinguished Citizen of the Year award. She was instrumental in the leadership of the Band Auxiliary over the past four years.  Linda put in many long hours at practices and events, and encouraged new parents to become involved.  She was able to plan and execute the entire marching band season thanks to her vision, people skills, hard work, and dedication. She was always very encouraging to the students, cheering them on and bringing them little goodie bags.

Linda was also very involved with Colorguard and Winterguard. Thanks to her cooking skills, the girls had great home cooked meals on the road. And all she had was a crock pot in a hotel restroom! Linda spent so much time with the girls, she became known as Mama Schram.

In addition to helping with the Auxiliary, Linda spent countless hours with the Market Day program at LP. This fundraising helped many other groups besides LP Marching Band. She was also involved with the Lake Park Partners in Education.