A dinner meeting of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (KOS-MOAA) was a night for the young. The room at the Ocala Hilton had four special guests, all under the age of 19. One of them, Diana Bennett, daughter of John and Lily Bennett, gave a moving speech to honor the veterans who have served our country. She received a standing ovation.

The other three were honored by KOS-MOAA, each receiving a $1,000 scholarship. Justin Herrera, son of Ivette and Louis Herrera, a graduate from West Port High School and member of the U.S. Army Junior ROTC, will attend the University of Florida. “He is my number one cadet,” said Col. Harry Good (Ret.). “His last assignment was Battalion Commander. He led our cadets through their final Army inspection.”

The cadets received 595 inspection points out of a possible 600. He is a member of the Honor Unit with Distinction, the National Honor Society, and has trained with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department’s as an emergency responder (CERT).

Thomas Powell, son of Dr. Steven and Helen Powell, graduated from Trinity Catholic High School, and was a member of the U.S. Air Force JROTC. He has been accepted at the U.S Air Force Academy. “He has been interested in attending the academy since 8th grade,” his father said.

Powell and his son met with U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, and talked about what it takes to get into the academy. Powell said, “He is very aggressive and determined.” In middle school Thomas attended the International Science Fair for three years. His goal is to become an Air Force pilot.

The third young man to receive a scholarship is Robert Nottingham, a graduate of Forest High School, and a member of the U.S. Air Force JROTC. Robert is the son of a single parent, Candace Nottingham. In his acceptance speech, Robert gave his mother high kudos for helping him. “I wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for her encouragement and help,” he said.

Of her son, she said, “His JROTC leaders, Lt. Baranowski and Sgt. Fletcher, were good influences in his life. My son is determined, very persistent.” Robert will be attending the University of Florida.

© Copyright 2006, The Ocala Star-Banner

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 12:33 am and is filed under Scholarship. Tags: College, Scholarship, Student, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.