The finest all-around scholar-athletes of Corvallis and Crescent Valley High Schools were honored at their respective sports dessert events in November by the Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis.
This fall, the most outstanding female scholar-athletes were Kristen Beamer (volleyball) from Crescent Valley and Jaclyn Zalesky (soccer) from Corvallis. The most outstanding male scholar-athletes were Layne Croney (football) at Crescent Valley and Travis Callahan (soccer) from Corvallis High School.
The seasonal sports awards are presented by the club to recognize Raiders and Spartans selected from nominations secured from the coaches of the fall sports programs of football, volleyball, cross-country and soccer. Rotarians selected the honorees based on athletic ability, demonstrated team and school leadership, academic excellence, and participation in activities in school and service to the community. The winning student athletes exemplify the type of student we see as role models for others. Plaques are awarded to the winners at the end of the fall, winter and spring seasons. The awards were recently pared back from recognizing scholar-athletes in each sport to one male and female student of the academic term at each school.
The Rotary Club of Greater Corvallis coordinates the awards with the athletics directors and coaches of the two Corvallis-based high schools.
Club News
Lia Van Streeter, Juliana Rodriguez, Students of the Month
Her teachers are proud to tell us that Lia is an outstanding student and a leader at Cheldelin Middle School. She is a member and active participant of the group entitled Students for Environmental Awareness. Lia is also a leader with the student orientation program entitled WEB – Where Everyone Belongs — that helps students transition to middle school life. In the Corvallis community, Lia is a summer volunteer with the Corvallis Youth Volunteer Corp. Lia plays tennis, volleyball, and piano. She enjoys running and staying active. A major area of interest at this time, with an eye toward the future, is a career in physical therapy.
Juliana’s teachers were quite excited to nominate her for this award. They say that she is a remarkable student, mature beyond her years, with a very positive attitude and a great smile. Juliana is also a WEB leader, meeting often with her group of 6th graders, many times outside of the allotted time for this activity. She is known of her positive spirit, perseverance and her teachers tell us that she displays a remarkable sense of empathy toward others. Others know her as having an amazing singing voice and they say it would not surprise them to see her on America’s Got Talent someday.
How Secure is your Cell Phone
Fifty percent of all thefts in California last year were cell phone related. Theft of one’s cell phone and password is a gateway to theft of all of a person’s account data and information. These are frightening facts, says Ben Brewster of Corvallis Technical, a security company for internet and electronic devices.
Brewster shared important tips to help people secure their cell phones and accounts at a weekly luncheon of the Greater Corvallis Rotary. He recommends:
- Add a four-digit passcode on your Iphone. This gives thieves another code they need to break before they can gain access to your information.
- Do not duplicate passwords on your accounts.
- Create longer passwords. Longer is better than complicated passwords. Use the four word rule and create a password that is four words put together with no spaces.
- Use upper and lower case in passwords. It decreases a thieves’ ability to de-code your password.
- Explore tracking devices for your phone. Most cell companies have them available. For example, Android uses PlanB to track cell phones. Apple uses MyiPhone to track a cell phone.
- Shut cell phones down immediately if it is stolen or lost and you can’t track it.
- Consider not keeping any account data on your cell phone.
Mari's Place gets "wee" furniture from Rotarian
When Mari’s Place needed furniture for their young residents, they turned to Greater Corvallis Rotarian Dave Henderer, a general contractor, who built the perfect size furniture for their playground. Mari’s Place is a special childcare center for children whose families are in difficult situations. Their parents may be homeless or low-income, struggling to provide a stable environment for their children.
Mari’s Place is located at Community Outreach, Inc., off NW 9th Street. Learn more about Mari’s Place and the wonderful environment it provides for at-risk families.
Rotarians Support Willamette Park Construction
Rotarians from five mid-Valley clubs are working to raise $150,000 to build a picnic shelter at Willamette Community Park in southeast Corvallis. Pavers are being sold for $100 and $250 to help raise needed funds for the project. Already $28,000 has been raised. The project, sponsored by Rotary, the Benton County Foundation, and Corvallis Parks and Recreation, was featured in the Gazette Times. You can also find a pledge form on their Facebook page.
Local cancer program goes international
Joann Stutzman, RN, has taught more than 2,000 local women how to prevent breast cancer. But when The Corvallis Clinic nurse was asked to teach breast health classes to women in Ghana, she first asked if the women wanted that special type of instruction. The answer was a resounding “yes” and with that Project H.E.R. went international.
Stutzman shared the Ghana women’s story in preparation for breast cancer awareness month in October. She said that African women have been impacted significantly by the disease because of genetics and the environment. An awareness program, led by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, is bring education and awareness to Ghana women.
Stutzman works with local breast cancer patients as part of Project H.E.R., a program that supports and mentors newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and survivors. The program, supported by Komen and The Corvallis Clinic Foundation, has been in existence for 10 years and served more than 2,000 patients. Oregon ranks fifth in the nation for prevalence of breast cancer.
The community will host Pink Week, Oct. 8-13, to be proclaimed by Mayor Julie Manning. During that week, Puttin’ on the Pink Education Day will be held October 10 and Puttin’ on the Pink Style Show will be held October 13. Everyone is encouraged to wear pink.