A check for $1,000 was presented to the Orestimba Interact Club at its final meeting of the school year. The donation was a gift from member Jessica Smyers, who won the top honors in a regional Soroptimist competition, the Violet Richardson Award. Smyers won $1,000 for herself and $1,000 for her sponsoring service club.

Smyers is a graduating Orestimba senior who has had a successful career in oral and written communication. Twice she won the club and area Rotary speech contests. She has competed in the district finals each year, winning honorable mention. During her senior year, she was a columnist for Mattos Newspapers.

The first Soroptimist award she received was at the local level. The Gustine-Newman Soroptimists honored three local students who entered the annual Violet Richardson competition. Smyers won a top prize of $400. Rebecca Crisanti and Katrina Velez each won $200.

The awards go to young women ages 14-17 who have engaged in volunteerism within their community or school. The award is named for the first Soroptimist Club president.

Each of the young women completed an application form and an essay outlining their school and community service.

After taking first at the local level, Smyers application was entered in the regional contest, which includes 48 Soroptimist clubs in the region which extends from San Francisco to San Luis Obispo, to Bakersfield and into the Sierra.

Smyers won the regional prize of $1,000. She appeared at the regional conference recently held in San Luis Obispo where 350 Soroptimists were present, including Gustine-Newman President Pat Maisetti and six other local members.

Smyers presented an inspirational speech to the conference describing the many aspects of her school and community service. “It was the best of the several speeches given by young women receiving various awards,” reported Maisetti. “Several clubs asked me to arrange to have Jessica speak to their members.”

At the event it was announced that Smyers would receive a second check, for another $1,000, which she could present to the club that had helped her become an active, socially concerned young citizen.

This was the gift that was presented to the new Interact Club president, Alec Santos. It came as a complete surprise to Santos, club advisor Lori Machado and the assembled members.

Santos indicated the new board would discuss how to best make use of the money. It may be spread over several years for important school or community projects, or may be used as seed money to get other school and community groups matching the funds to be active in a selected project for the coming year.

As an active member of Orestimba Interact, Smyers has participated in the club blood drives, the annual food collection for the local food/toy drive, the annual door-to-door campaign to collect funds each Halloween, the annual Rotary Read-In program and the Christmas shoe boxes filled with toys and gifts that are sent overseas to Third World children.

Her major community service project this year was as an active supporter of Measure R, the school bond. She went door to door promoting the measure, and worked phone banks. On election night Smyers checked on persons who had not yet voted and made phone calls to remind them to go to the polls.

She has also been involved for several years helping serve Sunday dinners at the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Modesto.

Caralyn Mendoza was the local chair of the Violet Richardson Award, one of the many annual projects of local Soroptimists. The 26-member club also supports the Salvation Army, local scholarship groups, Hospice, Agape, local libraries and many other worthy causes.

Submitted by Bob McConnell