Hyksos Temple No.123 recently awarded six high school graduates a Reuben Strickland Memorial Scholarship. From left are Shriner Romond Pace; Antoniea Summerrow, Lookout Valley High; Allen Jones, East Hamilton High; Amber Puckett, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy; Lee Mosley, Shriners' chief rabban; Samantha Burton, Sale Creek High; Alexis Henderson, Center for Creative Arts; Kortney Lewis, Tyner High, and John Dodds, scholarship committee chairman.

Shriners award Reuben Strickland Memorial Scholarships

Hyksos Temple No.123 recently awarded six high school graduates a Reuben Strickland Memorial Scholarship. They are: Antoniea Summerrow, Lookout Valley High; Allen Jones, East Hamilton High; Amber Puckett, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy; Samantha Burton, Sale Creek High; Alexis Henderson, Center for Creative Arts; and Kortney Lewis, Tyner High.

Recognition for ArtsBuild staff

ArtsBuild President Dan Bowers will serve as a presenter at the Americans for the Arts annual convention on June 16 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The convention draws 1,000 arts professionals from across the country to discuss strategies for building stronger cities through the arts. Convention-goers exchange ideas on arts education, cultural diversity, emerging leaders, public art and fundraising.

Bowers' panel session will focus on how cultural planning can leverage public engagement. Additional panelists in the session include representatives from Chicago and Atlanta.

Rodney Van Valkenburg, ArtsBuild director of grants and initiatives, was recently presented the Distinguished Service to Education Awards by Delta Kappa Gamma international education society at the teachers' Founder's Day brunch.

Members of the four Chattanooga chapters of Delta Kappa Gamma vote on and present the annual award, which is given to an individual who has furthered educational experiences in the Chattanooga area.

Adam Johnson

Johnson awarded Emerson National Scholarship

Adam Johnson, a May graduate of Silverdale Baptist Academy, is one of 30 recipients of the Emerson National Scholarship, awarded annually to children of Emerson employees.

The graduate is the son of Jerry Johnson, district manager at Therm-O-Disc in Mansfield, Ohio, and Diana Johnson.

Winners were selected from 111 finalists. Scholarship winners receive $2,000 per academic year for four years.

Johnson, a rising freshman, plans to attend Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Fla., to study marine sciences and biology.

In addition to the Emerson award, Adam also received a $1,000 Best Buy Scholarship, awarded for community involvement, and the President's Scholarship from Jacksonville University, for full tuition costs valued at $29,900 per year.

Loralee Songer

Songer chosen to participate in SongFest

Loralee Songer, assistant professor of music at Lee University, has been selected to participate as a Stern Fellow at SongFest. Only five applicants were chosen for the fellowship.

Held at the Colburn School in Los Angeles, SongFest is a summer music program offering outstanding singers and pianists the opportunity to work with world-class faculty members for four weeks. Songer will coach songs with the original composers, sing on master classes with composers and coaches and take private vocal lessons.

She is slated to participate in a performance of "Love after 1950," a song cycle by Libby Larsen, which will be attended by the composer. She will also appear as a soloist in Leonard Bernstein's "Songfest."

Comcast awards scholarships

The Comcast Foundation has announced four Chattanooga recipients of its annual Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program.

The program provides one-time $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors. Chattanooga winners are Aneri Patel, Boyd-Buchanan School; Deroneasha Smartt, Howard High School; Dominique Sterling, Hixson High School; and Janna Holcombe, Grace Baptist Academy.

Scallions earns Bob Jones award

Brooklyn Scallions of Signal Mountain has received a Bob Jones University Academic Excellence and Leadership Award.

The award recognizes student leaders who achieve an ACT score above 25 before entering college and maintain a 3.2 grade-point average during their college years. The scholarship provides up to $1,500 per year, for a maximum of $6,000 over eight semesters.

Copper Basin teens in national contest

Two teenagers from Copper Basin High School will represent Tennessee in the National Auto Skills Contest.

Alison Hicks and Aaron Dotson outlasted eight other student teams from across Tennessee to take home the 2013 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills State Hands-On Championship in May.

The duo will travel Sunday to Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., to compete with 49 teams from across the country in the 64th annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals. The students will be accompanied by their instructor, Kevin Smith.

Betty Morris, left, Unum Volunteer of the Year, presents her prize money to Sandra Hollett, chief executive officer of Partnership for Families, Children and Adults.

Morris receives Unum honor

Betty Morris, senior vocational rehabilitation consultant, has been awarded Unum's 2013 Volunteer of the Year Award.

The annual award recognizes an employee for commitment to volunteer service and whose activities have had an effect on the quality of life in their community.

As part of the award presentation, Unum made a $1,000 donation to Morris' charity of choice: Partnership for Families, Children and Adults.

For more than 13 years, Morris has organized and participated in Partnership's annual Holiday Cheer Program, which fulfills wish lists for children, the homebound elderly, homeless women and needy families. In 2012, Morris encouraged Unum employees to provide and deliver gifts to 170 Partnership clients.

She has completed the Partnership's domestic-violence hot-line training, and she created the Partnership's Job Club, which provides weekly training and job-search assistance to the homeless and victims of domestic violence.