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The Presby Presenters Toastmasters group meets every Thursday from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, 8200 Walnut Hill. The non-profit public speaking club was founded to help members overcome public speaking fears and develop and enhance leadership skills. Newcomers welcome. Meeting rooms and lunch plans change weekly; contact Lynda Waters at 214.288.7959 or LyndaWaters@texashealth.org for information.

Lake Highlands Military Moms is a friendship and support group for mothers with children currently serving in the military. For information, contact Rhonda Russell, lhmama1@yahoo.com.

The Lake Highlands Forum, a neighborhood group that meets the third Thursday of each month, is open to all neighborhood residents. The one-hour meetings feature speakers of interest to Lake Highlands residents. Meetings are held at Luby’s Cafeteria on the Northwest corner of Central Expressway and Meadow Road. A full buffet breakfast is available; cost is $8.61 payable to Luby’s. There are no other charges to participate in the group. Contact Lynn Austin during business hours, 214.361.9996.

The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands is looking to establish a club liaison with neighborhood attendance zone public schools. Interested members of local school councils should contact Larry Lauck at llauck@americanlightingassoc.com.

The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands is compiling a list of names and military addresses of former Lake Highlands students serving in and in order to send supplies, phone cards and letters. Lake Highlands soldiers currently serving overseas are Matt Booth, Michael Bryson, Guy Cahill, Austin Edwards, Patrick Freshwater, Sara Goodin, Isaac Haseley, Casey Kelley, Russell Kelley, Jeff Kramb, Josh McLean, James Rackler, Marcos Serna, Jim Turner and Marcus Williams. For a current list of soldiers overseas, visit lhexchangeclub.org and click on “Lake Highlands Military.”

people

The Rev. Robert Michael Corley was recently ordained to the priesthood at St. John’s Episcopal Church. The ordination was officiated by the Rev. James M. Stanton, Episcopal Bishop of Dallas. Corley joined St. John’s last August as curate of the parish and chaplain to St. John’s Episcopal School. A reception following the ceremony was hosted by the Women of St. John’s.

Lake Highlands resident Karin Larrave Godfrey, was recently selected as a 2007 Quality of Life award recipient from the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) Foundation. This foundation makes annual donations to MDRT members’ designated charities. Godfrey selected The Epilepsy Foundation of Southeast Texas. It will receive a $2,500 grant, to be used in its general operations. Godfrey is a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.

schools

Lake Highlands High School won third place at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) one-act play area competition at Plano East Senior High School. Performing “Sweet Nothing in My Ear” by Stephen Sachs, Eric Orman and Emily Wilson were named to the honorable mention cast; Anthony Abdo and Meredith Alloway were selected for the area all-star cast; and Ben Manno was named to the all-star tech crew. Lindsey Laird was chosen for the state UIL honor crew. The LHHS performance was directed by Michael Stephens and Beauen Bogner.

students

St. John’s Episcopal School eighth-grader Madeline Ball won the best of fair award at the ExxonMobil Texas Science and Engineering Fair in San Antonio. Her project, “Coping with Copepods,” also won 1st grand prize in the life science category and was recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency. Ball has been nominated for the Discovery Channel’s Young Scientist award, and has been invited to participate this summer in the ESI 2007 science fair in Durban, South Africa.

Lake Highlands High School’s Angelina Williams qualified at the Region II District 5A track and field meet to advance to the state competition in Austin. Williams ran the 800 meter with a personal best time of 2:13.20, and finished second in the 400 meter run with a time of 55.67. She is LHHS’ first woman individual running qualifier in 23 years.

The Exchange Club of Lake Highlands presented its recent Character Counts awards to Lake Highlands High School students Cameron Gray and Meredith Matthews. Gray plans to attend the University of Texas in Austin to study finance, for a future stock market career. He is the son of Debby and Bruce Gray. Matthews wants to attend either Texas A&M University or Baylor University to study nursing. She is the daughter of Michelle and Truitt Matthews. Award recipients are selected by LHHS staff, based upon their exceptional character traits.

United States Congressman Jeb Hensarling announced the nomination of Lake Highlands High School senior John Elmore to the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Students hoping to attend a military service academy are subjected to a rigorous selection process and are nominated by a member of Congress, the vice president of the United States or the Department of Army, Navy or Air Force. Nominations are determined by academic performance, college entrance test scores, physical aptitude, medical certification, extracurricular activities and demonstrated leadership potential.

Lake Highlands Youths of the Months are senior honor students Rachel Courtney and Ryan Frye. The two were chosen by the Exchange Club of Lake Highlands. Courtney plans to attend The University of Texas in Austin to major in biology. She also hopes to attend medical school to become a pediatrician. She is the daughter of Kristine and Paul Courtney. Frye plans to attend Wake Forest or Vanderbilt, followed by medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. He is the son of Dori and Devin Frye. Both students were presented with a plaque and NorthPark Gold.

Neighborhood resident Erin Trickett was recognized by Austin College in its recent academic honors societies’ convocation ceremony. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Honor Society and Phi Sigma Iota, Foreign Languages. Trickett is the daughter of John Trickett.

The Lake Highlands High School Highlandettes recently competed against 17 high school teams in the American Dance/Drill Team Competition in Galveston, Texas, and brought home a number of awards. First place soloist was awarded to captain Shannon McDaniel, with teammate Bethany Stutsman garnering runner up. The team also took first place as a whole for their ensemble work. In the Sweepstakes Award of Excellence category, the team was awarded Best Overall Officer Technique, Best Overall Officer Presentation, Best Overall Officer Precision, Best Overall Officer Choreography, and the Judge’s Award for Officer Jazz, Officer Lyrical and Officer Novelty. Additional team awards included the Gussie Nell Davis Award, and the Judge’s Award for Team Kick and Team Lyrical. The Highlandettes were one of only three teams to receive the Sportsmanship award, and they also were honored with the Academic Champions award for being the team with the highest cumulative GPA. It was the first year the girls have entered the two-day event, held at the Moody Gardens Convention Center. 

volunteers

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at the Senior Source is looking for volunteers age 55+ to volunteer with more than 230 non-profit agencies in Dallas and Collin counties. RSVP matches your skills, needs and desires with a volunteer job. Volunteers are generally needed for three hours, one to two days a week. 214.823.5700 or rsvpd@TheSeniorSource.org.

Mentoring Volunteers are needed to devote up to three hours a week to a Lake Highlands student through the Lake Highlands Exchange Club. lhexchangeclub.org.

Samaritan Care Hospice, a Medicare-certified hospice program, needs volunteers to provide one-on-one companionship to terminally ill patients. If you have one or two hours per week to give as a hospice volunteer, call 972.690.6632 to register for an upcoming class.

Meals on Wheels, a program run by The Visiting Nurse Association seeks volunteer drivers in our neighborhood. Drivers make weekday deliveries a few mornings a week or month, picking up meals at the Lakeview Christian Church, 9100 Diceman. 214.689.0639.

Charities Home Center is in need of volunteers to help operate the resale store and also seeks gently used donations for families in the community. Donations can be picked up. Hours of operation are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Lake Ridge Shopping Center at Kingsley and Audelia, 214.342.8231.

Heart House Dallas, a free after-school program for low-income children, has a variety of volunteer opportunities for groups and individuals. Work as a mentor, homework tutor, coach, and office helper or in other available capacities. For information contact Jayna Wallach at 214.750.7637 or jwallach@hearthouse.org, or visit hearthouse.org.