Notable
By ANDREW NELSON, Staff Writer | Published June 9, 2011
Pinecrest Academy student Caitlin Nelson won first place in the Inspire Life Competition, sponsored by Beacon of Hope in Johns Creek.
Judges selected her digital image titled “Rose E’er Blooming” from all high school work submitted for the competition. She received a $250 scholarship.
Beacon of Hope began the Inspire Life art competition in 2010 to promote life in schools and art classes, and Pinecrest has had Best of Show winners both years.
In addition to Caitlin’s art, the following Pinecrest students’ work was also selected to be on display at the gallery opening at the Beacon of Hope Gala: Marisa Elias, Hoon Kim, Kristina McCabe, Arturo Merriman, Kristen Nelson and Rachael Lee.
Here’s a description of Caitlin’s piece: “A newborn is like a rose. The development takes a while, and the process is slow but is worth waiting for. A rose with all of its petals is most beautiful fully bloomed, and that is just like a child. In the process of development during the nine months, the baby is blossoming, and one can only see the baby’s full beauty as he/she is brought into the world. The silence a baby has and the little baby talk of murmurs and sounds are just like sitting in a field of flowers hearing the songs of the birds and the rustle of the winds against the tall grass. A baby can touch one’s heart through the innocence of its actions, just as the action of one giving another a rose as a gift to touch their heart. The inspiration of life can be found through both of these creations, but while a rose can only last a short while, the love a baby can give can last a lifetime.”
Say this about the men in the Dreher family at St. John Neumann Church, Lilburn, they are ambitious.
In May, Patrick Dreher earned the rank of an Eagle Scout. He has company at this prestigious level: He joins his three older brothers who also earned the highest rank in Boy Scouts.
Patrick completed his project, which was delayed by a year after flooding in September 2009 damaged the regional Catholic school based at the parish.
Patrick is 16 and a rising senior at Providence Christian Academy where he is an avid golfer. He is also active in Life Teen at St. John Neumann.
He raised about $1,000 for his two-part project: improving a playground by cleaning and re-mulching it. Also, a sandbox was converted into a planting area. The second part of the project was to make needed furniture for the school, including a large storage cabinet, two student computer desks and a teacher’s desk.
“I enjoy hanging out with my older brothers, all of whom are also Eagle Scouts. It was really cool that Joseph, Christopher and Matthew all participated in my Eagle ceremony,” he wrote in an e-mail.
The NFL season may be in doubt, but one place to find football Sunday afternoon in the fall will be the Marist School stadium.
Organized by “co-commissioners” Jeff Van Wie and Teak Shore, the inaugural year of a Marist flag football league is underway. It is for grade school students, from rising third- to six-graders.
The season was put together after representatives from Notre Dame Academy in Duluth met with Marist football coach Alan Chadwick and athletic director Tommy Marshall. The independent Catholic elementary and middle school is Marist-sponsored.
Each team will have up to 10 players. Each team will field five players on the shortened 50-yard football field. There will be a limit of eight teams each for the third- and fourth-grade division and the fifth and sixth grade.
Space is limited. To register, visit www.marist.com/athletics. More information is also available at www.ndaspecialevents.org/maristflagfootball or by e-mail at maristjrwareagles@gmail.com.
Knights of Columbus Council 4599 at St. Joseph Church, Marietta, recognized Jim and Susan Orfe and their family as the Council’s 2010-2011 Family of the Year.
Jim along with his wife, Sue, and their children, Jimmy, Josh, Rebecca and Alex, put in hundreds of hours from August to April to renovate the council’s home to make it a usable, practical building.
The award plaque was presented to the Orfe family by chaplain Father John Walsh, pastor of St. Joseph Church, and Grand Knight Steve Jamell before a gathering of Knights and their families at the council’s Memorial Day picnic.
Make sure to mark your calendar for two prominent Catholic speakers at Emory University.
The Aquinas Center, which marks its silver anniversary this year, announced that it will co-host Professor Mary Ann Glendon, of Harvard Law School, and former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, who will speak on Tuesday, Sept. 20, on campus. The lecture will be co-sponsored by the Emory Center for the Study of Law and Religion.
A speaker in 2012 will be Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe, the former master of the Dominican order who has taught at the Dominican Center at Oxford University in England known as Blackfriars. His lecture will be in March 2012.
A best-selling author, Father Timothy has an international following for preaching on contemporary society, Christian life, social justice, religious life and the Catholic Church.
See the website at www.aquinas.emory.edu for more information.