The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks declared May 1 through 7 as National Youth Week.
Sun City Elks Lodge No. 2559 held a banquet on May 1 to honor local youth.
This awards banquet featured more than 160 attendees and 47 total awards. Twenty high school seniors were awarded $1,000 scholarships at the lodge, with two receiving additional scholarships in the amount of $2,000 from the Arizona Elks Association (state), and one student receiving an additional $4,000 at the national level.
In addition to the scholarship winners, awards were given to 15 students of the month, eight teens of the year, two Americanism essays, one drug awareness award, one student of the year and two hoop shoot winners.
Surprise resident Allee White was awarded first place for her drug awareness poster. She just finished fifth grade at Freedom Traditional Academy.
Allee also received first place from the Arizona Elks Association. She was presented her award by Jack Ponzo, AEA state drug awareness chairman.
Allee’s poster will be the cover of the Drug Awareness Coloring Book, which is distributed to students to promote drug awareness.
