Eleven new officers graduated on July 9 from the Law Enforcement Academy of Georgia Northwestern Technical College.
Graduates were Joshua P. Cole, Jordan B. DeJesus, Marissa E. Elrod, Jake D. Holley, Christopher B. Johnson, Martin A. Meza, William J. Pledger, Hunter M. J. Quarles, Jose M. Meza Sandoval, Christopher K. Wilkins and Jason H. Winkles.
Cole was presented the Top Gun award for excellence in marksmanship, and Holley received the Academic Award for having the highest grade-point average.
ArtsBuild receives $99,400 in grants
ArtsBuild recently received $99,400 in grant funding from the Tennessee Arts Commission.
The commission awarded three grants to ArtsBuild including Major Cultural Institutions grant of $76,500, Arts Build Communities grant of $15,900 and Arts Education: Teacher Training grant of $7,000.
"The Tennessee Arts Commission's continued funding is vital to ArtsBuild's sustainability and to the fulfillment of our mission to build a stronger community through the arts," said Dan Bowers, president of ArtsBuild. "The TAC is the backbone of the arts in this state and their ongoing support of ArtsBuild is validation that Chattanooga is a leader in utilizing the arts to strengthen our community."
Collegiate honors
* Signal Mountain resident Angela Gonzales was recently inducted into Phi Kappa Phi honor society at Middle Tennessee State University. Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest honor society for all academic disciplines.
* Noel Salaices of Dalton, Ga., has been elected to serve as a Student Government Association senator from the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University.
* Georgia State University student Sofia Mendoza of Dalton, Ga., was awarded the John H. Cowart Scholarship at the Robinson College of Business Honors Day program. The award is given annually to a real estate graduate or undergraduate student who plan a career in real estate.
Mendoza also received the D. Scott Hudgens Undergraduate Award presented by the International Council of Shopping Centers Foundation. The award is presented to a junior or senior enrolled in an undergraduate real estate program who exhibits an interest in retail real estate.
Freedoms Foundation honors Brown
McCallie School junior Michael Brown was the guest speaker at the spring luncheon of the Tri-State Southeastern chapter of Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, which was held at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
The luncheon honored the teen's selection by the chapter to attend the Freedoms Foundation's Spirit of America Youth Leadership Program in Valley Forge, Pa. The three-day conference for high school students across the country gave them the opportunity to interact with experts on citizenship, democracy, the free-enterprise system, the judicial system and the American political process. The program included speakers, historical tours and workshops designed to develop leadership skills.