LEOs receive Young Leaders Service Awards

Seven Monta Vista High School students are this year’s recipients of the prestigious Lions Clubs International Young Leaders in Service Award. The award honors students who contribute 50 or more hours of community service in a given year. Caroline Chen, Katie Chen, Sharon Tung, Jennifer Chen, Rachael Tham and William Chang received Silver Seal Awards (50 hours), and Kevin Coe received the Gold Seal Award (100 hours). Kevin Coe is a two-time recipient of the Gold Seal Award, an honor realized by only 3-4 four students per year world-wide. The students are each members of the Lions-sponsored Monta Vista High School Leo Club, a campus community service organization.

The awards were presented by Cupertino De Anza Lions’ Kent Vincent on May 18 at a banquet held in honor of the Leos at TGI Friday’s Restaurant in Cupertino.  Two-year Leo Club President and graduating senior Jessica Ho was also honored with a special Lions award for outstanding leadership. The club has tripled in membership (105 members), outreach and charity fundraising during her tenure, focusing on such projects as the Special Olympics, the National Children’s Cancer Society and One Sight programs for disadvantaged students needing glasses.

The club is one of the largest and most active in the Bay Area. It has introduced and motivated many students to community service and made possible the service hours that earned so many members this year’s Lions Clubs International Young Leaders in Service Award.

Contributed by Lion Kent