Music
Kelly and Garney Johnson, sister and brother, were selected to sing with the 1994 National Youth Honor Choir at Carnegie Hall in April. Kelly, a freshman at BYU, is a member of the school's Women's Chorus. Garney, a sophomore at Ramona (Calif.) High School, has been a member of the school's show choir and is entertainment editor for the school paper. Both have had musical leads in numerous school and community plays. The 300-member honor choir includes participants from throughout the United States. Kelly and Garney have each participated in state and western division honor choirs. They are members of the Ramona 2nd Ward, Poway California Stake.Scouting
Kei Osako, a student at BYU-Hawaii, is the first member of the Church to earn Japan's Fuji Scout Award. It is the highest honor given to Scouts in Japan, similar to the Boy Scouts of America's Eagle Scout award. He is a member of the BYU-Hawaii 2nd Ward, BYU-Hawaii 1st Stake. The Fuji Scout Award is presented in a special ceremony by the prime minister and the crown prince once each year. Kei, 19, recently returned to Japan to attend the ceremonies. Kei's Scout leader is his father, Nobuaki.
Academics
Malinda Wallentine, a sophomore at Meridian (Idaho) High School, was recently awarded a four-week, all-expenses-paid study trip to Germany. She was one of more than 24,000 students who competed for the study trip by participating in a nationwide German testing program, administered by the American Association of Teachers of German. Only 69 students were selected to make the trip, made possible by a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany through its Embassy in Washington, D.C. Malinda is a 4.0 student and a member of the Meridian 1st Ward, Meridian Idaho Stake.
Melissa E. Hardy, a Laurel in the Mission Viejo 3rd Ward, Mission Viejo California Stake, is a 1994 National Merit Scholarship finalist. A senior at Mission Viejo High School, she also recently won first place in the Orange County Republican Women's Patriotic Essay Contest. Melissa is a four-year member of the Mission High Academic Decathlon Team and is listed in Who's Who Among American High School Students. She will graduate with an international baccalaureate degree as well as a high school diploma in June. Melissa is planning to attend BYU this fall and major in pre-veterinary science.
Athletics
Tony Medina, a junior at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nev., has won three straight Nevada state wrestling championships. He won at 103 pounds as a freshman and then at 119 pounds the past two seasons. Baptized last year, Tony is a member of the Nellis Manor Ward, North Las Vegas Nevada Stake.
Kristopher Fisher, a 17-year-old priest in the Richmond Hill Ward, Brampton Ontario Stake, has earned several national awards as an outstanding swimmer in Canada. In the Canada National Youth Championships, he won first place in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and the 100-meter backstroke. He was also the male individual high-point winner. Representing Canada on the national youth team at an eight-nation meet in Germany, he finished third in the 100 freestyle and was on the winning 4x100 freestyle relay team. In the Canadian National Championship he was third in the 50 backstroke. In the Canada Games, he was third in the 100 backstroke and the 50 freestyle, and a member of the first-place 4x100 freestyle and second-place 4x100 medley relay teams.
Daniel Duncombe, a sophomore at St. Michaels High School, won the Class A Minnesota state wrestling championship at 135 pounds last season. He was also the Wright County Conference champion and had 43 wins for the season. Daniel's team took the state consolation team title. He is a priest in the Buffalo Ward, Anoka Minnesota Stake.
Professional
Randy Keadle, a high councilor in the Paradise Valley Arizona Stake, was recently part of a materials management delegation participating in the Citizen Ambassador Program in the People's Republic of China. Visiting several businesses and government agencies, the group began in Beijing and traveled south to Nanjing, Suzhou and Shanghai, exchanging information on resource management, purchasing strategies, and business planning. Brother Keadle, a BYU graduate, is a materials manager with an electronics company in Phoenix and served a mission to Taiwan.
Bruce K. Meyers Jr., Young Men president in the Kilauea 1st Ward, Hilo Hawaii Stake, has received a Young Engineer of the Year award. The selection committee of the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers, Big Island Chapter, honored Brother Meyers for his four years of rigorous practical design and project management experience and for his contributions to the Hilo community. He is presently a design engineer for a firm in Hilo. He received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from BYU.
Craig L. Booth, a member of the stake presidency in the St. George Utah West Stake, has been named Utah Doctor of the Year. He received the award from Gov. Michael Leavitt. Dr. Booth has been in family practice in St. George for the past 20 years. He also is the medical director of the Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.
Robert A. Price, patriarch in the Phoenix Arizona North Stake, has been named the 1994 Family Physician of the Year by the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians. He attended BYU and received his medical degree from the University of Southern California. He has been treating patients in the Phoenix area for more than 40 years.
Brett H. Pielstick has been named the Young Engineer of the Year 1994 for northeast Florida. He was chosen for his outstanding achievements in his professional field, as well as service to the community. Brother Pielstick is currently the project engineer for the $150 million cast-in-place segmental Acosta Bridge in Jacksonville, Fla., and has published several papers about the project. He is a member of several professional societies. He is a Scoutmaster in the St. Augustine Ward, Jacksonville Florida East Stake, and swims and surfs competitively.
Writing
Jason Hopkins, a priest in the Eighteenth North Ward, Salt Lake Eagle Gate Stake, won first place in the personal essay category in the BYU English Department "Writing 1994" Contest. The competition attracted entries from around the world. Jason won for his essay, "My Walden or Life in the City." He is an 11th-grade honor student at Waterford School in Sandy, Utah.
Military
Robert W. Drewes, counselor in the presidency of the Mount Vernon Virginia Stake, has been selected for promotion to the grade of major general in the U.S. Air Force. Gen. Drewes is currently in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition in the Pentagon. He has almost 30 years of service in the Air Force and he has served in several positions including military adviser in the President's executive office.
Science
Bradley C. Paul of the Marion Ward, Cape Gerardeau Missouri Stake, received an International Award from the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Scientific Society at its annual meeting recently. His winning paper was written about a computer model for an experimental process to extract copper from ore-bearing rock by solution. Brother Paul is an assistant professor of mining engineering at Southern Illinois University. He received a doctorate at the University of Utah.
Cultural Arts
Betty J. Sorensen was recently re-elected chairman of the Alberta Municipal Association for Culture (AMAC) for a second term. AMAC is a provincial organization of municipal recreation/cultural practitioners, representatives from allied arts councils and others interested in culture and the arts. Sister Sorensen, who was a founding member of AMAC 10 years ago, is cultural programs supervisor for the city of Medicine Hat. She is a gospel doctrine teacher in the Medicine Hat 3rd Ward, Taber Alberta Stake.
