by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
Three Sartell High School students were recently honored by the St. Cloud Optimist Club for their outstanding commitments to good causes.
The three are Ben Fern, Bailey Mumm and Nicole Yang. They are three of nine area students recognized by the club.
Each year, the St. Cloud Optimist Club recognizes local youth for their work in community-service projects or organizations.
Yang was lauded for her dedication as a Big Sister through the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and for helping to recruit her peers to serve as mentors in that organization. Yang was nominated by Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Fern was nominated by the Boy Scouts for his volunteering projects, most notably one he did at Parkers’ Scout Camp. A member of Troop 211 at Celebration Lutheran Church in Sartell, Fern has earned 35 merit badges during his 11 years of scouting, including two Eagle Palms since completing his Eagle project. He is a senior patrol leader for the troop’s 56 scouts. He has been a rock-climbing instructor, a staff member for National Youth Leadership Training and a Senior Patrol leader last year. A superb athlete, Fern is also a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters.
Mumm was nominated by CentraCare for her volunteer work at the St. Cloud Hospital where she is a team leader for the Junior Volunteer Program in which she trains new volunteers and had donated more than 500 hours to volunteer tasks.
Bailey Mumm receives an award from the St. Cloud Optimist Cllub for her outstanding volunteer work at the St. Cloud Hospital.
Ben Fern accepts an award for outstanding community service from the St. Cloud Optimist Club during an awards ceremony.
Nicole Yang (right), a student at Sartell High School, was recently honored by the St. Cloud Optimist Club for her dedication to the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Yang was lauded for being a consistent and dependable role model for her Little Sister in the program and for helping to recruit her peers to serve as mentors in the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. In the photo above, Yang receives the award from Liza Fetterley, program coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters.