Youth Week Celebration a Great Success

Submitted by Shawna Lang, Esteemed Lecturing Knight

Student of the Year award recipients holding certificates at the Youth Awards Ceremony

We proudly kicked off Youth Week with our annual Pizza and Ice Cream Social along with our Youth Awards Ceremony, and it was truly a wonderful success. The evening was filled with laughter, recognition, and community spirit as we celebrated outstanding students, teachers, and youth from several local schools.

This year, we were honored to recognize students and educators from four different schools for their hard work, leadership, and positive impact.

From Desert Shadows Elementary, the following students were recognized as Student of the Year for their grade levels: Hawkins Kerr for Kindergarten, Keira Kuklovsky for 1st Grade, Max Dearie for 2nd Grade, Lili Sills for 3rd Grade, Ellie Haun for 4th Grade, Kendall Langenhuizen for 5th Grade, Lily Lui for 6th Grade, and Jackson O’Farrell for Special Area. We also proudly recognized Sheltie Sallas-Leverat and Ashley Marks as Teachers of the Year.

At Desert Cove Elementary, MaryGrace Bealer received Student of the Year honors, while Katie Teubner was recognized as Teacher of the Year. From Shea Middle School, Olivia Rash was named Student of the Year, and Mr. May received Teacher of the Year honors. Shadow Mountain High School student Ryan Sinclair was also honored as Student of the Year.

In addition to our school awards, we were especially proud to present Antler of the Year Awards to Claire Miller for Leadership, Will McDermott for Participation, Reese Evans for Community Service, and Pia Kashyap for Service. Scout Awards went to Ryan Dudley of Boy Scouts Troop #607, Kylie Wolfe of Girl Scouts Troop #181, and Lincoln Abbott of Cub Scouts Pack #335. The USN Cadet Award was given to Tyler Crotty, Officer First 2nd Class, and Makenna Guthier was recognized as our Lodge Teenager of the Year for her dedication, leadership, and service.

Elroy the Elk mascot greeting a guest at the Youth Week celebration

The evening was made even more special with delicious pizza, ice cream, and a memorable appearance by Elroy, who helped celebrate and show just how proud we are of all these incredible children and young adults.

Congratulations to all of our award recipients, and thank you to everyone who helped make this event such a meaningful and successful start to Youth Week.

Originally published in the June 2026 Tracks newsletter of Phoenix Elks Lodge #335. Read the full issue (PDF).

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