Nine Lake Highlands High School students received $20,000 in scholarships this year from the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands, says president Bob Eckert.
Winners included Amy Godlewski, Sarah Rener, Amy Beller, Emily Fisher, Lorna Stewart, Khuyn Phan, Allison Brown, Ginger Moore and Preston Evans.
The Club’s fund-raising activities raised $7,500 of the scholarship total, and $12,500 was presented on behalf of the Henry G. Wichmann Memorial Scholarship Fund of Metro Factors Inc.
The students were honored based on academic and leadership criteria, Eckert says.
Porter Honored by Altrusa Club
Neighborhood resident Judy Porter recently received the first “Heart of Altrusa” award presented in the Altrusa International of Downtown Dallas club’s 11-year history.
The award is presented to a club member who “has built up her fellow Altrusan through a kind word, a friendly deed or a heartfelt laugh…and brings us together in a spirit of cooperation,” according to club president Martha Hardwick Rentzel. Altrusa is a combination of the words “altruism” and “USA”; the club was formed as a community service organization for women in 1917 and was modeled after the Rotary Club.
This year, the 50-member Downtown club focused its efforts on East Dallas neighborhoods, adopting Fannin Elementary School and raising funds to help build classroom walls at the school.
Porter arranged for the confirmation class at St. Bernard’s of Clairvaux Catholic Church, where she is director of religious education, to work service hours at Fannin. The group constructed 15 walls during a single workday. Porter and her husband, Ted, have four children, including twin two-year-old boys.
For membership information, call Barbara Kennedy at 368-1800.
Habitat Completes Renovation
A three-year renovation of the Garrett Park East neighborhood by Dallas Habitat for Humanity recently was capped with a final home dedication, says Deborah Durham, director of development for Habitat. With completion of the neighborhood project, Habitat now moves to the Cityplace Development bordered by Ross, Carroll, Lemmon and Central Expressway, Durham says.
Habitat plans to build 25 homes on property donated by Cityplace Development Co., which is redeveloping the neighborhood. Also, a Target discount store is nearing completion in the area.
Habitat provides no-interest loans to families who would like to own their own homes and have average incomes of $11,000-$22,000 annually, Durham says. Homeowners are required to work numerous hours of “sweat equity,” alongside community volunteers, on their homes and others as part of the program.
Home construction and land costs for the Cityplace neighborhood are being donated by Citi Equity Group, Northern Trust Bank and King of Glory Lutheran Church, Durham says.
Registration Continues
Nearly 5,000 children have signed up for the Summer Reading Club at branches of the Dallas Public Library throughout the City, says library spokesman Gail Bialas.
This year’s theme is “Lions and Tigers and Books…Oh My!”. And Registrants receive a free book bag from the Friends of the Dallas Public Library Inc. and become eligible for prizes including Dallas Children’s Theater tickets and gift certificates from Half Price Books, Bialas says.
Creative dramatics workshops, puppet and magic shows and sing-along musical concerts are planned throughout the summer.
Registration is free at any branch library. Call 670-1671 for information.
Senior Center Opens
Baylor University Medical Center recently opened its first senior health center in the former Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce building near Casa Linda Shopping Plaza. The chamber recently moved to new quarters at Caruth Plaza, Park Lane and Central Expressway, and is leasing its former office space to Baylor.
The senior health center targets older adults’ health care needs, according to Shirley Shofner, R.N., who led the center’s development team. The center is open weekdays and offers on-call evening and weekend emergency care, Shofner says.
News and Notes
SWIM HOURS: Lake Highlands North Recreation Center director Pam Osborne recently announced the center’s summer swimming hours. Open swimming is scheduled from 1-7 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays; the wading pool is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m.-noon. Admission is 50 cents for children, $1 for adults and $3 for families.
