Article in Paper

Thursday, April 26, 2007
Orem students celebrated through Great Kids Awards

MICHAEL RIGERT - North County Staff
Until a few weeks ago, Orem Elementary sixth-grader Kevin Ludwig had never heard of the Great Kids Awards.
Yet on April 11, he was one of 49 students from Orem and Provo schools accepting the accolade in front of his parents and siblings from the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce.
Treated to a dinner in the ballroom of the Provo Library at Academy Square, honorees and their families participated in the awards ceremony and enjoyed a DVD presentation of snippets compiled from video-taped interviews with each of the children.
"I was pretty shocked," Ludwig said, of being selected for the honor, adding that his favorite part of the evening was watching the video.
"Some of them were pretty funny," he said.
Guests also heard brief remarks from former BYU linebacker and current member of the National Football League's Super Bowl-champion Indianapolis Colts Rob Morris, BYU football player Brett Denney, and Congressman Chris Cannon.
Ludwig's least favorite moment, Orem Elementary teacher Terry Hodson surmised, was probably when the boy's sister shouted with glee when his name was announced over the PA system.
For Hodson, giving Ludwig the nod for the award was an easy call.
"He has excellent work habits in class, a fantastic attitude and is willing to participate in all activities whether he likes them or not," he said.
Becky Rodeback, office manager for the Provo-Orem Chamber of Commerce, said Great Kids Awards, this year in its 13th year, are a way for its members to recognize kids in the community who may not always be in the spotlight. Principals from each school pick a sixth-grade (and sometimes fifth-grade) boy and girl from a list of teachers' nominees to accept the award.
"It's not necessarily based on academics, who's the best at football, but just that they're good kids, good examples and good friends," Rodeback said. "And a lot of them are kids who are trying awfully hard."
In one of the video interview segments, she recalled a young boy who when asked, said his father was his favorite hero.
"He said 'He married my mom and I needed a dad,'" Rodeback said. "Oh my gosh, that's the cutest thing I've ever heard."
Boys received autographed footballs from Morris and Denney and girls received bracelets from Losee Jewelers thanks to donations from Chamber members.
Nicole Nelson, Orem Elementary's other Great Kids Award recipient, was nominated by her teacher Heather Stewart for being a standout student in the classroom.
"Mainly it was just her initiative. She always has a positive attitude and she's a hard worker," Stewart said.
Ludwig, who will turn 12 in two weeks, aspires to be a filmmaker, wants to reduce the amount of non-disposable waste discarded in society and enjoys reading adventure series such as Harry Potter and The City of Ember.
His father is his hero because "he helps me with a lot of things," he said.
Other Orem students receiving the Great Kids Award in the Mountain View High School area of schools included Jose Bonilla and Carlisha Zabriskie from Cherry Hill Elementary; Cristian Castaneda from Suncrest Elementary; Diana Quintana and Trevor Fairbanks from Vineyard Elementary; and Ashley Call and Kevin Sites from Westmore Elementary.
Rodeback said the Chamber also assists local schools through education partnerships with Resist Aggression Defense Kids (radKIDS) training and providing mentoring opportunities through members businesses for high school students.
Yet it's through the Great Kids Awards program that the Chamber can elicit the biggest smiles of all on kids' faces.
"I honestly think it's one of the most rewarding things we do through the Chamber," she said