Lewisville High School senior Ayrica Jones last week received the Student of the Month award for January 2024 in recognition of her many achievements and commitment to serving her peers at Lewisville High School (LHS).

 

“She is an amazing young woman,” said LHS principal Jim Baker, noting that Jones is ranked number 16 out of 1130 students in her class. She also serves as student body senior class liaison and on Lewisville’s Youth Advisory Council. In addition, she is a member of the Black Student Union, the Interact club, and the National Honor Society. “She is as kind a person you will ever meet, and even though she's so quiet, you can put her with any group of students and they will shine” because of the heart and intellect she brings to each encounter, said Baker. After graduation, Jones plans to major in business. The members of the Lewisville Noon Rotary wish her continued success in her academic pursuits.

 

The Lewisville Noon club also honored Jesse Gordillo, a senior at LHS, with the Exceptional Student of the Month Award. “He has an excellent work ethic, stays focused and has a lot of academic grit” with great self discipline and problem solving skills, said one of Gordillo's teachers. The ambitious student has excelled in the HVAC program at TECC WEST and plans to open his own business after graduation in May. We look forward to seeing Gordillo realize his dreams iand are proud to recognize him for his outstanding achievements at Lewisville High School.

 

Bruce Schultes and Richard Hawker of the Cross Timbers Rotary last week paid a visit to the Lewisville Noon club to give an in-depth presentation on Disaster Aid USA, the disaster relief program they are bringing to Rotary District 5790.

 

“We are the 25th district to implement this program,” said Schultes, who was wearing a bright blue shirt bearing the Disaster Aid USA logo on the back. The initiative provides the district with a special trailer filled with equipment and provisions to help victims of a disaster, such as a flood, fire, or tornado. “We use the trailers as central command” as teams deploy to meet the needs in a particular area, Schultes said, noting they had raised enough funds to purchase the trailer but need additional monies for ongoing maintenance and supplies. 

 

The process to deploy includes assessing the location and scope of damage with local authorities; using an alert system to notify volunteers about a crisis event and opportunity to serve; and providing supplies and services to address immediate needs, such as roof tarps to prevent water damage after a natural disaster,. Disaster Aid already has deployed teams for nearly 50 domestic disasters in the past ten years, including mudslides, hurricanes, severe winter storms, and school shootings.

 

“When you get into a disaster situation, access to complete and accurate information is critical,” noted Richard Hawker (pictured at right), who is helping improve program efficiencies by automating various processes and putting information online using Microsoft Sharepoint and Google Workspace. He is looking for volunteers with experience with these platforms or with scripting or data modeling to expedite these efforts. “With more volunteers, we can help more people,” Hawker said.

 

District 5790 training for the Disaster Aid USA program will be April 6, 2024 at the Rockin' S Ranch in Runaway Bay, TX. Click here to register online.

For more information about Disaster Aid USA, to volunteer for deployments (including cooks, drivers, day workers, team leaders, and other roles), to donate equipment and materials, or to get involved in another capacity, visit disasteraidusa.org. You can also send donations to Disaster Aid, 9817 Lanham Severn Road, Lanham, MD 20706.