The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Warsaw Community High School held its first annual awards ceremony Tuesday morning in the Performing Arts Center. Sgt. Maj. Mark Whitford and Maj. Friedrich Josellis presented the awards to cadets after the colors were presented and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited. Two awards from the American Legion were given. Cadet/Cpt. Nick Light was awarded the General Military Excellence Award. To receive it, a cadet has to be in the top 25 percent of his or her class in academic subjects and JROTC subjects. He or she has to demonstrate outstanding qualities in military leadership, discipline, character and citizenship. The other Legion award was the Scholastic Excellence Award, presented to Cadet/Ltc. Makayla Leamon. She received the honor because she is in the top 10 percent of her class in academic subjects. She also is in the top 25 percent of her class in JROTC subjects. She demonstrated qualities of leadership and actively participated in related student activities within the school. The National Sojourners Award is given to cadets in the top 25 percent of their academic class. The recipient must have encouraged and demonstrated the ideals of Americanism by deed or conduct or both, and have demonstrated a potential for outstanding leadership. The award was presented to Cadet/Cpt. Gary Spratt. Cadet/1st Sgt. Eric Helblig earned the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry JROTC Award. Criteria for the award include that the cadet must have contributed the most among cadets on campus to encourage and demonstrate Americanism by deeds or conduct during participation in extracurricular activities or community projects. They must have demonstrated academic excellence by being in the top 25 percent of their academic class, and have demonstrated a potential for outstanding leadership by exhibiting qualities of dependability, good citizenship and patriotism. The U.S. Army Recruiting Command Award for JROTC was presented by U. S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Hodge, local recruiter. To receive the award, the cadet must be in the top 25 percent of his or her academic class. They must have demonstrated outstanding leadership traits and possess the potential for assuming positions of increased responsibility, and participate in extracurricular activities that foster both scholastic and military excellence. They must demonstrate qualities of dependability and good character, respect military discipline and standards, and possess a fundamental and patriotic understanding of the importance of JROTC training. Hodge presented the honor to Cadet/1st Sgt. Mason Metzinger. Cadet/Pfc. Riley Betz earned the Sons of the American Revolution Award. The award is given to the cadet who is in good standing militarily and scholastically. They must show a high degree of merit with respect to leadership qualities, soldierly bearing and excellence. Cathy Gawthrot presented the Daughters of the American Revolution award to Cadet/Maj. Gabriella Beard. The award requires cadets to be a member of the graduating class, be in the top 25 percent of the cadets in JROTC and in academic subjects. They must have demonstrated qualities of dependability and good character, adherence to military discipline, leadership ability, and fundamental and patriotic understanding of the importance of JROTC training. The Association of the U.S. Army award was presented to Cadet/Pfc. Jason Adame, while the Military Officers Association of America award went to Cadet/Sfc. Jacquelin Torres. Josellis presented the Reserve Officers Association award to Cadet Jessica Marino. Josellis said Marino reflects highly upon cadets. He said he knows how much Marino has given to the JROTC program and she was an easy selection for the award. “She’s one cadets can look to,” he said. Tibor Bierbaum presented the Military Order of the Purple Heart to Cadet/Cpt. Nicholas Adams. Cadet Cody Paine received the Veterans of Foreign Wars award. It was given to the cadet who showed the most turnaround during the year. AmVETS bestowed two awards, one to Cadet Patrick Myer and the other to Cadet Camdon Heckaman. As Whitford read the names, Josellis then presented Leadership Education and Training ribbons to each cadet who completed their first semester of JROTC successfully. Josellis said this group of cadets should stand tall because they were the first group to come through the WCHS JROTC program. Whitford announced the “Company of the Year” went to the Charlie Company. Since Leamon is graduating and served as the battalion commander for the 2013-14 school year, she was promoted in rank. After Light was announced as the battalion commander for the 2014-15 school year, Leamon and Warsaw Community School Corp. Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz helped decorate Light. Hintz is a veteran of the Air Force. After a two-minute video highlighting the year’s events and the graduating seniors, Josellis said it’s been a great year and he couldn’t imagine it going any better. “This class is one that gets immortalized. The first one does. It’s been an honor for sergeant major and I to be in the company of these cadets. You’ve learned from us, but we’ve also learned from you. We look forward to doing bigger and better things,” he said.
